Swampscott firefighter honored for rescue

SWAMPSCOTT – A 31-year veteran of the department is being hailed a hero for saving a woman in a house fire on June 26.Firefighter Robert Randall, who was assigned to the ladder truck, said en route to the scene he heard people were trapped in the inferno so he wasted no time getting into the building upon arriving at the scene.”Search and rescue is my primary responsibility,” he said. “It was bad when we got there. I jumped off the truck and looked at the smoke rolling out. I knew I didn’t have time to wait for them to run lines or anything. I got on my hands and knees and started in.”When firefighters arrived at 370 Forest Ave., homeowner Arthur C. Townsend, 82, was outside but his wife Barbara, 82, was still inside.Randall said the smoke was so thick and heat so intense he couldn’t even stand up.”I stayed down and just kept moving,” he said. “I was going forward and then turned left. I couldn’t see anything even with my light on. I banged into a dishwasher and just kept reaching my hands out. My hands brushed against her hair.”The conditions were so brutal at the scene that Randall said one of his fellow firefighters told him after the fact that he thought Randall wouldn’t make it out.Randall said he knew he couldn’t carry the woman out because the smoke and heat were too intense to stand up and she would have been breathing superheated air.”I grabbed her and pulled her to the kitchen doorway,” he said. “I took my mask off and put it on her for a few minutes. I was pulling her down the hallway when I bumped into a leg (of another firefighter). I yelled, ‘Hey, you guys, want to give me a hand over here.'”For his heroic efforts, Randall is slated to receive the Liberty Mutual FireMark Award early next month.The award, which is only given to between 25 and 50 firefighters a year, “recognizes firefighters throughout the country who best represent their communities through their valor and selfless spirit.”Acting Chief Michael Champion said Randall is an exemplary firefighter and the award is well deserved.”He gets into it,” he said. “He gives his all to the job and is ready to jump in.”But Randall was quick to shrug off the accolades.”You do what you have to do,” he said. “Every guy on that fire that day did their job. Firefighter Kevin Clark saved my butt by pushing that fire back or I wouldn’t have made it out.”As for being a hero, Randall said if duty calls he’ll respond even under the toughest conditions.”It sounds like she’s going to make a full recovery,” he said. “The doctor said we got to her just in time – she only had a minute or two left. I did what I had to do and would do it again. But I hope I never have to do it again.”Former Fire Chief Richard Carmody, who retired last month, nominated Randall for the award.Earlier this year, Saugus Firefighter Capt. Thomas Nolan also received the award for his daring rescue of a handicapped woman in Saugus last April.