Boston Runner: I Made My Last Turn, Then Heard a Blast

David Chen, a captain with the Jones Fire Station was a few blocks from the finish line of the Boston Marathon when he heard a blast.

But Chen’s first reaction wasn’t to run away from the terror that undoubtedly waited at the finish line. Instead, he ran toward the chaos to try and help.

“I was getting ready to make the last turn when I heard a blast,” Chen said. “Police were listening to the radio intently and it was clear something wasn’t right. As soon as you turned the corner you could see the smoke rising and people running.”

Having the instincts of a firefighter, Chen immediately tried to make his way down the street to see if he could help. But despite his best intentions, he quickly discovered that wasn’t an option.

“There was not a whole lot I could do,” Chen said. “I tried to go up the street and the police were clearing the race. I had on a fire department T-shirt and I was trying to help and do what I could. So I skirted up the sidewalk the best I could, but the police wouldn’t let me go any further.”

When Chen realized he wasn’t going to be able to get close enough to help, he began trying to find his friends. He said making phone calls was practically impossible but he was eventually able to meet up with the people he came with, who were also safe and unharmed.

Chen said he doesn’t think too much about his instant reaction of fight instead of flight, he said it’s just an instinct.

“I wasn’t really scared—I was just trying to process the information,” he said. “It’s not a normal reaction, but I guess it’s because of what we do in the fire department. You just try to figure out the best course of action, and don’t think about it until afterwards.”

Chen returned to his Annapolis home, wife and four children on Wednesday.  Being a firefighter, Chen said he has seen a lot of terrible things, but nothing quite like Boston.

“From what I do—we see a lot of injury, death and destruction in everyday life, but this is on a bigger scale,” he said. “It angers me more than anything—that someone would do this to anyone.”

Before Boston, Chen had never run a marathon. He said he was excited to finish, but his race came to a halt just blocks before the finish line.

If it were up to him, Chen said he wouldn’t let the events at the Boston Marathon change his life—but the women in his life had a different opinion.

“There’s no sense to it—it is so random,” Chen said. “How I was there at that one point in history is so random. I have already been told by all the ladies in my life that I am not going back. But it wouldn’t change me. That was my first marathon and I wanted to complete it.”

After experiencing a tragedy like the one in Boston or 9/11, many people feel the need to retreat or even live in fear. Some people rethink the way they live their life or go about things differently.

The events in Boston mostly left Chen with anger. He said he is angry that someone would do something like this—hurt innocent people. But he said it’s important to still go on living.

“It’s just disappointing and angering that anyone would do that. It’s disheartening,” Chen said. “People have said,  ‘I want to build a hole and crawl in it and stay there,’ but that’s no way to live…I am going to keep doing what I do.”

Let Patch save you time. Get great local stories delivered right to your inbox or smartphone everyday with our free newsletter. Simple, fast  sign-up here.

Like us on Facebook  |  Follow us on Twitter  |  Sign up for our newsletter