Three Watertown Firefighters to be Honored by Governor, State Fire Marshal

Three members of the Watertown Fire Department will be honored at the Firefighter of the Year awards ceremony for saving the life of a suicidal man in August 2010.

Gov. Deval L. Patrick, Public Safety and Secretary Mary Elizabeth Heffernan and State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan will recognize the heroic acts of bravery of 150 firefigthers from across Massachusetts during the 22nd annual “Firefighter of the Year” Awards. The event will take place at the historic Hanover Theatre in Worcester on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 12:30 p.m.

On Aug. 22, 2010, Watertown Fire Lt. Frank Aliquo, now retired, and firefighters Michael Anastasi and David Meagher responded to a medical call, where a man with altered mental status was cutting himself with a large kitchen knife and was threatening to commit suicide, according to the Fire Marshal's office. After the police convinced the man to allow Anastasi to bandage his wounds, Anastasi developed a rapport with him and attempted to convince the man to disarm and surrender.

The man, however, reentered the home and ingested a bottle of pills with brandy, according to the Fire Marshal's release. At this point, Aliquo, Anastasi, and Meagher developed a plan to take the man into custody. They took physical control of the man, and he was later transported to the local emergency room and treated for lacerations and a drug overdose.

In total 58 awards will be presented to 150 firefighters at the ceremony, according to the release, including: one Norman Knight Award for Excellence in Community Service; 19 Individual Awards for Meritorious Conduct; six Group Awards for Meritorious Conduct to teams of firefighters; two Excellence in Leadership Awards; 12 Fire Marshal’s Awards; 13 Medals of Valor; and five Medals of Honor.

Firefighters from Bourne, Braintree, Brockton, Brookline, Lowell, Lynn, Middleton, Newton, Northbridge, Pittsfield, Rehoboth, Salisbury, Saugus, Somerville, Springfield, Stow, Wareham, Watertown, West Bridgewater, Williamstown, and Worcester will be honored during the ceremony.

There will be twelve Fire Marshal’s Awards presented at this event. One will be awarded to  V. Carlisle Smith, who was a member of the Board of Fire Prevention Regulations for over 55 years. This award will also be presented to nine tornado response teams: Agawam, Brimfield, Monson, Southbridge, Springfield, Sturbridge, Westfield, West Springfield and Wilbraham. Lastly, two tornado recovery community service teams will also be awarded: Norfolk and Chelmsford.