WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - Hundreds of firefighters from across the country lined the streets of Worcester to pay their respects to a fallen brother Sunday.
Lt. Jason Menard died after entering a burning building Wednesday in search of a reported trapped resident and baby. The 39-year-old and his team were trapped by flames, and Menard helped his fellow firefighters escape before succumbing.
Firefighters from hundreds of miles away said there are no borders when it comes to the love and respect they have for their brothers and sisters, and they wanted to honor Menard’s sacrifice.
“We just decided to hop in the car and pay our respects to a hero, a true hero,” said Jacob Crowe, a Ticonderoga, NY firefighter. “I hope that is showing up can be a smidgen of the type of respect that we have for the kind of man he was, because he did what a true leader is supposed to do.”
“What he did was very heroic, we are all hurting even as far away as Texas,” said Demetrius Countouriotis, who came to Menard’s wake Sunday with a contingent of firefighters from the Austin, Texas Fire Department to support Worcester firefighters. “We want them to know that departments across the nation are mourning their loss.”
Those who know Menard say he loved being a firefighter but put his family first. Menard leaves behind a wife and three children, and had been set to go on a family trip to Disney World.
Friends say the Menard family is overwhelmed by the support they’ve received during this time.
“These families are staying strong and that’s because the community has rallied behind them,” said firefighters union president Michael Papagni. “The outpouring of love and prayers is humbling, they are appreciative of it.”
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