WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - Fallen Worcester fire Lt. Jason Menard was awarded the Medal of Honor during the annual Firefighter of the Year Award ceremony on Monday.
Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Public Safety and Security Secretary Thomas Turco, and State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey will pay tribute to Menard during a virtual ceremony.
“Lieutenant Jason Menard was a 10-year member of the Worcester Fire Department. He was a firefighter’s firefighter — always there to help his brothers and sisters,” State Fire Marshal Steve Ostroskey said.
Menard died in November 2019 after he “heroically and selflessly” saved his crew from a four-alarm blaze that engulfed a home hours before he was supposed to leave on a Disney vacation with his family.
“Not only was he brave, he was compassionate and cared a lot about his community and helping people,” Polito said. “What he did on that night was what he signed up to do and what he was truly trained for and truly good at. He saved lives and ultimately he saved a brother firefighter.”
Baker said the Menard family deserves this recognition.
“Sometimes when we talk about this kind of service and this kind of sacrifice, we think about it within the four walls of a building like this. Or we think about it in the context of a community that was served. But, in the end, the greatest sacrifice of all is the one that’s made by the family,” he said.
Baker visited the Menard family home after his death and said he was moved by what he saw there.
“That was a home that was loved,” he said. “It was special because the people who were there loved each other loved the life they were building and loved the home they had created.”
In addition to Menard, 75 other firefighters are slated to receive various awards.
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