“This had the potential to go very bad': Rescuers of 2 teens on Wachusett Mountain saluted
PRINCETON – After a snowstorm pounded northern Central Massachusetts from dawn to dusk March 14, it only made sense for dispatcher Elizabeth Consiglio to pick up an overnight shift at Wachusett Regional Emergency Communications Center.
Less than an hour later, about 7:30 p.m., she responded to a 911 call from two boys, 15 and 16, who through the speaker setting on a cellphone described how they had lost their tracks somewhere in the back of Wachusett Mountain.
Earlier, the boys had reached the summit on a lift, around 5 p.m., when they decided to explore beyond designated areas.
A couple of hours into the walk, they realized they had lost track of direction.
More: Teens looking for 'fresh snow' on backside of Wachusett Mountain rescued after 3 hours
At a ceremony on Thursday, outside Station 2 of the Princeton Fire Department, Consiglio was among 17 individuals, including members of the Fire Department and the ski patrol at Wachusett Mountain, awarded the Worcester District Attorney’s Team Excellence and Merit Award. The TEAM award recognizes outstanding service by those in public safety.
Recalling the night when the call came in, she said, while her colleagues at the Wachusett Regional Emergency Communications Center started organizing fire and police rescue, her responsibility became keeping the boys on the phone. They talked about many things, she said.
“What do they want to do after school, what would they eat for breakfast,” said Consiglio, 40. “I have boys that are teenagers, so I thought like a mom.”
Rescue strategy
A team of 10 members from the Princeton Fire Department, among them Chief John D. Bennett, headed for the mountain to start the search, coordinating two snowmobiles and two snowcats, among other equipment, to look for the boys.
At the foot of the mountain, Capt. Philip Connors discussed the logistics of the rescue.
"It was a cold, wet night, fog was heavy, visibility was horrible," recalled Connors, 63. “It wasn’t really snowing, but it wasn’t done yet; it was the tail end of the storm.”
The plan was simple: Using a ping signal to locate the cellphone, the department sent up six firefighters on two snowcats, which are truck-sized, tracked vehicles designed to move on snow, that would pack down the 3-foot-deep snow, fresh from the day’s heavy snowfall, while two snowmobiles followed behind.
Thomas Connors, 31, often uses snowmobiles in Maine with his friends, but never during his 10 years as a Princeton firefighter had he had to use them at work.
The son of Capt. Connors, who remained at the foot of the mountain along with the rest of the crew, Thomas described how simply he was assigned one of the two snowmobiles.
"‘You two guys go snowmobiling?’” said Connors, imitating the curtness in Chief Bennett’s voice. “’Easy pick. You guys run the slides. Away you go.'"
Connors said that it was difficult to locate the boys, despite receiving two ping signals from the cellphone.
Google Maps
“The biggest challenge off the bat was making sure we were in the right spot,” said Connors. “But we were able to nail down exactly where we're going to compare the pings using Google Maps."
Meanwhile, after about one hour of being on the phone with the boys, Consiglio continued trying to keep them distracted until help arrived.
With cellphone battery life at 9%, Consiglio said, the boys showed great worry.
At one point, one of them stopped talking to his friend, shivering uncontrollably and nearing hypothermia.
But Consiglio kept at her goal.
“He said his friend was getting really cold,” said Consiglio. “I said to him, ‘Dude, let's keep interacting with him.’”
About 8:30 p.m., about an hour after the call, came the moment of relief.
About two miles from civilization, the rescuers spotted the boys huddling to keep warm.
“When they said they could see the lights from the snowcat,” said Consiglio, “it was just relief knowing that they were coming down and that they weren't actually hurt.”
To safety via snowcats
The boys were treated immediately at the scene and were transported on the snowcats back to the foot of the mountain, where they were reunited with their parents. The boys were unhurt.
Thursday's event, where the 17 members were recognized, was attended mostly by those involved in the rescue. The rescued teens were not there.
“This had the potential to go very bad,” said District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. “But because of their training, these public servants, these people were all able to come together and coordinated their efforts, worked as a team and saved these boys.
“It's no understatement at all that if it wasn't for their actions, we're going to have a very different result and probably lost two young teenagers.”
Bennett attributed the rescue to "training and teamwork.”
“This one was tough because it was late at night and time was definitely against us,” said Bennett. “We've got great technology, and we have one heck of a team behind us."
Here is a complete list of the awardees from Thursday’s ceremony:
Princeton Firefighter/EMT Jonathan Barry
Princeton Fire Chief/EMT John D. Bennett
Princeton Firefighter/EMT Christopher Bruning
Princeton Fire Capt./EMT Philip Connors
Princeton Firefighter Thomas Connors
Princeton Firefighter/EMT Brian Henrich
Princeton Firefighter/EMT Seamus Kelly
Princeton Deputy Fire Chief/EMT Advanced Tim Kelly
Princeton Firefighter David Richard
Princeton Firefighter/EMT Sara Williams
Wachusett Mountain Snowcat Operators Jesse Goodnow and Shawn Freeman
Mountain Vehicle Maintenance & Grooming Operations Manager Scott Goodnow
Ski Patrol Director Kevin McDonald
Wachusett Regional Emergency Communications Center Dispatcher Danielle Beland
Wachusett Regional Emergency Communications Center Dispatcher Elizabeth Consiglio
Wachusett Regional Emergency Communications Center Dispatcher Alice Ordung
Wachusett Regional Emergency Communications Center Dispatcher Zavon Zayas-Colon
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Princeton: Worcester DA honors rescuers of lost teens on Wachusett Mountain
