NEWBURYPORT, Mass. -- When a young man slipped beneath the murky waters of a Maudslay State Park pond late last month, Deputy Fire Chief Stephen Bradbury and police officer Nora Duggan acted quickly, entering the pond and rescuing the man before he drowned.
In recognition of their heroic actions on Sept. 27, their commanders, fire Chief Christopher LeClaire and City Police Marshal Thomas Howard, recently issued letters of commendation and recognition to Bradbury and Duggan. In addition, LeClaire will be issuing merit citations to the entire fire crew who responded, along with Duggan and fellow police officer John Schmidt.
On that afternoon, a young Hispanic man entered the pond around 12:15 p.m. for reasons still unknown; soon a passer-by called police after hearing cries for help. Duggan, a more than 26-year veteran of the department, was the first to respond and grabbed a rescue flotation disk from her cruiser. There she found the victim struggling to stay above the water.
As she approached the water line, Duggan began sinking into the mud. Trying to communicate with the victim, she moved deeper into the mud until becoming stuck. Still, Duggan had the presence of mind to throw the disk several times. When the victim slid underneath the water, Duggan noted the time he went under and continued tracking it, according to Howard.
Bradbury showed up moments later and quickly donned the survival suit he kept in his command vehicle. He too entered the water and began searching for the victim. Minutes elapsed until Bradbury was able to locate the victim and bring him above the waterline. Bradbury kept the victim's head above water until other firefighters, arriving seconds later, helped extricate him from the water. CPR was administered and while it appeared the victim might have been brain dead, emergency responders were relieved to learn that the victim woke up and was released from the hospital, LeClaire wrote in his letter to Bradbury.
At the time of the incident, police described the man as being in his 30s and possibly homeless. Police believe he has been seen in Amesbury and West Newbury in recent weeks and may have come from the Boston area. He has possibly been identified as Nelson Martinez, but that has yet to be confirmed.
Upon learning that the victim had pulled through, both Howard and LeClaire felt the actions of their officers deserved special recognition.
Bradbury was issued a letter of commendation from LeClaire while Duggan received the same commendation from Howard. Bradbury and Duggan also received letters of recognition. Mayor Donna Holaday was made aware of their actions as well.
LeClaire commended Duggan for having the presence of mind to keep tabs on how long the victim had been underneath the water and for entering the bog in the first place.
"Which I thought was above and beyond for a police officer," LeClaire said.
Howard said Duggan's actions didn't surprise him one bit.
"Nora continues to be an officer that takes any kind of medical aid call very personally. She's very involved, very committed to them," Howard said.
As for Bradbury, LeClaire praised his deputy for having the presence of mind to have a survival suit in his command vehicle at all times. "Because of his actions, the kid was out of the water within five minutes," LeClaire said.
When asked if Bradbury's actions were just another day on the job for him, Newburyport Firefighters Union president Bob Morse didn't mince words.
"It's just what anybody would do -- so yeah, it's typical," Morse said.
Newburyport firefighters who will be receiving merit citations include: Bradbury, Lt. Kevin Parseghian, Chris Richard, Matt Houle, Wendy Murray, Mike Kent, Jeff Cutter, William O'Connor and dispatcher John Cutter Jr.
The small pond, about 4 or 5 feet deep and smaller than half a basketball court, has the consistency of quicksand. It is located near Curzon Mill Road behind the park's main building. Managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the 450-acre Maudslay State Park is located in the western part of the city and ends by the banks of the Merrimack River.
Copyright 2013 - The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
