Fall River firefighters are being honored for heroism after saving lives in the Flint

Dan Medeiros, The Herald News
·3 min read

FALL RIVER — Forty-five members of the Fall River Fire Department will be honored on Friday as winners of the state’s 33rd annual Firefighter of the Year awards, for their efforts in battling a ferocious house fire on Irving Street during a blizzard in January.

The department will be honored at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, as part of an event “honoring the dedication and sacrifice of the brave men and women of the Massachusetts fire service,” according to the state Department of Fire Services.

The four-alarm fire that struck the home at 140 Irving St. in the Flint Village neighborhood was an exceptionally difficult situation for the department. The fire was called in at 4:40 p.m., with flames on the first, second and third floors. But crews were stymied by a storm that dumped massive snowdrifts on the area and the havoc it caused.

Fall River firefighters battle a four-alarm fire at a multi-family home at 140 Irving St. on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022.
Fall River firefighters battle a four-alarm fire at a multi-family home at 140 Irving St. on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022.

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"We couldn’t get anywhere near the fire building," said Fire Chief Roger St. Martin. “We had 65 mph winds. It was 3 feet of snow. There were vehicles just abandoned in the middle of the street, so we couldn’t get by them.”

A plow had gotten stuck, blocking access to the site, and a flatbed truck had been abandoned in the road. To top it off, vehicles were parked on both sides of the street and one was blocking access to the nearest fire hydrant.

“The first chief that arrived had to park his vehicle two blocks away because the street was blocked, and walked to the fire,” St. Martin said. “It took 11 minutes to get there. It was maybe six blocks from the Flint fire station.”

It was also St. Martin’s first day as chief — a true trial by fire.

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Scenes from the aftermath of the massive fire at 140 Irving St. in Fall River.
Scenes from the aftermath of the massive fire at 140 Irving St. in Fall River.

When crews were finally able to start fighting the flames, they were challenged by extremely high winds and single-digit temperatures that froze lines and turned the street into a skating rink. Two firefighters received injuries, including one who cut his hand and another who slipped on ice and broke several ribs.

“Generally, what could go wrong went wrong,” said firefighter Jason Burns.

Still, the team managed to evacuate all occupants safely: seven adults and four children, none of whom was hurt. The house at 140 Irving was deemed a total loss, but in that densely packed neighborhood of tenements where other buildings were as close as 4 feet away, crews kept the fire from spreading and destroying other property.

“The guys, they came together. Something like that, with the amount of wind, the amount of problems that we were confronted with, that could’ve been a really bad incident,” St. Martin said.

“Nobody wants to see a house get lost. We don’t want that. But with the way that everything was against us, we were lucky that it was just that one building that was lost.”

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Ice covers much of the scene where a massive fire burned at 140 Irving St., Fall River, in blizzard conditions.
Ice covers much of the scene where a massive fire burned at 140 Irving St., Fall River, in blizzard conditions.

Firefighters 'uncomfortable' in the spotlight

St. Martin said he proudly nominated his department for their efforts. The awards are given annually by the state Department of Fire Services. On hand will be Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey and other dignitaries.

Along with Fall River crews, firefighters from 15 other communities statewide will receive awards, including New Bedford.

Burns, who serves as the Fall River firefighters’ union president, said that generally “the whole award thing is not the firefighter world. We kind of shy away from it and just tell people it’s our job.”

A couple of discarded fire hoses can be seen where firefighters fought a blaze that leveled an apartment house at 140 Irving St.
A couple of discarded fire hoses can be seen where firefighters fought a blaze that leveled an apartment house at 140 Irving St.

St. Martin agreed, noting, "A lot of the guys aren’t going because of that reason.”

Still, Burns said the recognition his fellow firefighters will be getting for getting their job done in the face of brutal conditions is a well-deserved honor, “as uncomfortable as it is.”

“They saved property. They saved lives,” Burns said. “And that's what they get hired to do."

Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Mass. gives Fall River Firefighter of the Year Awards for heroism