Seven Attleborough Firefighters honored for saving two stuck in ditch

ATTLEBOROUGH, Mass. (WLNE) — Seven Attleborough firefighters were honored at the 35th Annual Massachusetts Firefighter of the Year Awards for successfully completing a difficult rescue.

The Attleborough Fire Department’s Capt. Scott Godin, Capt. Steven Stellakis, Ryan Bielawa, Jessie Lee, Nicholas Manganello, Jason Mayer, and Brian Sweeney were awarded on Monday for the event’s Group Citation for Meritorious Conduct.

On June 28, around 1:43 p.m., the firefighters aided an injured man and 7-year-old boy after a car crash ejected them from their vehicle and sent them to the bottom of a deep ditch off I-95.

The crew used a combination of tools and a Stokes stretcher, which is also known as a rescue basket, to reach the two victims in the 30-foot ditch.

“There was no path to get down there, so they used a combination of ladders and ropes,” Attleboro Chief Scott Lachance said.

The crew called on a rescue team for assistance, but reached the two individuals before the help came.

“At the time, they couldn’t wait for the Bristol County Technical Rescue Team that was more equipped for that since you don’t know how injured a person is until you get down to them,” Chief Lachance said.

Both individuals were sent to the hospital and survived with minor injuries.