Granby First Responders Honored at Service

The three representatives of Granby’s first responders - ambulance, police department and volunteer fire department - said they were humbled and grateful for the recognition provided by the Valley Brook Community Church during an outdoor service on Sunday to commemorate the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Pastor Clark Pfaff presented plaques to Stephen Johnson of the Granby Ambulance Association, Sgt. Gary Charette of the Granby Police Department and Chief John Horr, Jr., of the Lost Acres Fire Department as a way of thanking the members of the departments for their service.

As Pfaff put it, “These people run toward danger while everybody else is running away from it. … They placed service to others above their own safety.”

Several hundred people in attendance gave the three a standing ovation.

While their training calls for them to protect others, Charette, Horr and Johnson were greatly appreciative for the recognition on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of over 3,000 people, including 343 firefighters, 60 police officers and 15 emergency medical technicians, in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

“[Thanks] is not something we usually get,” Horr said. “You usually encounter people during one of the worst events of their lives, so they don’t think to thank us. It’s a little overwhelming and good to know that people appreciate us. It’s not why we do the job, but it’s still nice to hear.”

Johnson, the ambulance association’s chief of operations, agreed, while adding a caveat.

“It’s gratifying and humbling,” he said. “But it’s also a little uncomfortable because this is what we do.”

Johnson said that he was reflecting on “the enormity of the tragedy” that took the lives of so many civilians as well as public safety officials.

Charette, for his part, recalled the tearful telephone call he received from a woman who thanked him for saving her life after she went into respiratory distress.

“I hadn’t thought about the impact that we have on people,” Charette said. “[In that way], they’ll always remember you.”

Pfaff later delivered a message entitled “Never Forget Hope,” during which he said that, “Hope is knowing that God is with us.”

He then encouraged people to, in their own way, recognize those who were lost during the attacks.

“Today is also a day to be proud of in remembering the resilience of our people and our nation,” he said. “That we responded to such horrible acts of such ferocity with honor and heroism.”