Braintree Officer Awarded For Heroism After Saving 2 In Fire

BRAINTREE, MA — A Braintree police officer was honored for his heroism in saving two people from a burning home. Officer Sean Dias was among eighteen people to receive a Carnegie Medal, the highest honor for civilian heroism in the U.S. and Canada. He's worked in the Braintree Police Department since 2013.

In November 2017, Dias was first on the scene of a burning home on Nicholas Road. Dias rushed into the house and found a 69-year-old man in a wheelchair just inside the front door.He helped him get out, but the man told Dias his wife and son were still inside.

Dias could see flames coming from the roof and window of the sons room. Despite this, Dias took the call to action and went back inside.

He called for the man's wife and son; the woman answered and Dias followed her voice and found her sitting in the living room. Dias lifted the woman to his shoulder, but, disoriented by darkness and smoke, he had difficulty retracing his steps back to the front door, police said.

Dias eventually found the door and gout out with her. The woman was taken to the hospital but recovered. Their son, Colin Gray Jr., 45, was a longtime cook at the Braintree House of Pizza, could not be rescued and died in the fire, police said.