Lynn firefighter shows his mettle

LYNN – Tugging a hose into a dark, smoke-filled hallway, firefighter Ryan Newhall saw Lt. Sean Martin open a door and disappear from sight.Martin fell 9 feet into a cellar on March 13 as fellow firefighters worked to extinguish a fire in an Ontario Street house.”Everything happened quickly. I heard a loud commotion,” Newhall said.The stairs had been removed while the house was under renovation. With fire climbing the home’s exterior walls and Martin’s broadcasting a mayday call, Newhall reached through the cellar doorway, located a ladder propped against a wall, and climbed down to assist Martin, who had sustained a serious shoulder injury in the fall.”He was pinned down there in his gear and in a lot of pain,” Newhall said.Newhall managed to get Martin on his feet and up the ladder. Martin underwent surgery and returned to work this week in time to join Newhall in Boston Tuesday for the 25th annual Firefighter of the Year Heroic Awards.With Gov. Deval Patrick presiding over the ceremony, Newhall received the Medal of Valor as his son, Colin, parents, Pat and Dick, and Martin and his fiancee, Kelly Johnson, looked on. For Newhall, an 11-year Lynn Fire Department veteran, the ceremony was a proud moment tempered by sober reflection: Martin’s fall occurred barely two weeks before the March 26 fire that killed two Boston Fire Department members.Boston Fire Lt. Edward J. Walsh and firefighter Michael R. Kennedy were honored during Tuesday’s ceremony. “It hit home,” Newhall said.Newhall said training immediately prompted him to take the steps necessary to rescue Martin while firefighters around them battled the blaze. He called the incident commander coordinating firefighting efforts and guided help to the cellar doorway as he worked to evaluate Martin’s condition, free him from debris and help him climb out of the cellar.Fire Chief James McDonald described Lynn-born Newhall as “a diligent firefighter who is good at what he does.”The recognition he received caught Newhall by surprise. “It’s an honor, but this is what we train for,” he said.