Disney-Bound Family Loses Firefighter Father; Memorial Fund Established
This one hits close to home; I live just 15-minutes from Worcester. But the painful story has reverberated throughout the country. The Disney-connection simply makes the sad story burrow in deeper.
Worcester’s Fallen Firefighter
CNN.com’s Carma Hassan reported:
Just hours before a planned family vacation to Disney World, a veteran firefighter was killed early Wednesday when his ladder crew got trapped while searching for residents in a four-alarm fire, authorities in Worcester, Massachusetts, said.
A Hero’s Sendoff
WORCESTER, MA – NOVEMBER 17: Fire personnel queue up to enter Mercadante Funeral Home for the wake of Lt. Jason Menard November 17, 2019 in WORCESTER, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Chris Christo/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
MassLive.com’s Melissa Hanson explained:
It was the beginning of a hero’s sendoff.
Worcester fire officials promised Tina Menard and her three children a hero’s sendoff for Lt. Jason Menard. It’s a promise no fire department wants to fulfill, and one Worcester firefighters have had to deliver eight other times in the last 20 years… Well wishes, thoughts and prayers have been posted across the internet since Wednesday. A growing memorial of flowers and stuffed animals sits outside the McKeon Road Fire Station. Sunday’s wake put the support behind the Menard family and the Worcester Fire Department into striking imagery, as a line of firefighters from near and far snaked down the front steps of the funeral home and across Plantation Street.
Firefighters’ badges showed they came from across the state: Greenfield, Boston, Carver, Oxford. They stood patiently, waiting to walk through the funeral home as temperatures hovered around freezing.
It’s important to note that a Memorial fund has been established. Click here to learn more.
Image: MassLive.com
