WORCESTER — A Massachusetts fire lieutenant scheduled to leave on a Disney vacation with his family after his shift ended died early Wednesday investigating a report of a trapped baby in a burning home, his chief said.
Lt. Jason Menard, 39, and his crew became trapped on the top floor of the three-story home after the fire was reported at about 1 a.m., Worcester Fire Chief Michael Lavoie told a news conference.
Menard helped two members of his crew escape but was unable to get out.
Menard “heroically and selflessly saved his crew, helping a probationary firefighter to the stairs and then returning to rescue another trapped firefighter, assisting him out the window,” Lavoie said.
Menard and three other firefighters were taken to the hospital. Menard was declared dead, another firefighter was listed in serious condition and the two others were treated and released.
Menard leaves behind a wife and three children, Lavoie said. He had worked for the department since 2010.
“To have this cruel loss this morning is almost more than one city can bear,” City Manager Edward Augustus said.
The Menard family was scheduled to depart for a vacation to Disney World after his shift ended Wednesday, according to Michael Papagni, president of the city firefighters’ union.
“They are now instead planning a hero’s sendoff,” he said.
The Worcester Fire Department has seen its share of tragedy. Menard’s death comes less than a year after the on-duty of death of Worcester firefighter Christopher Roy, and a month before the 20th anniversary of the deaths of six firefighters in a warehouse blaze in December 1999.