SAUGUS — Two firefighters have received the highest honor within the Saugus Fire Department for rescuing an unconscious man from a burning building.
Lt. William Cross and Firefighter Anthony Arone received the Thomas R. Linskey Award of Merit at a ceremony earlier this month. The honor is awarded annually to a firefighter who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to help the public. It is named after retired firefighter Tom Linskey.
Cross and Arone were honored for their actions during a fire in July 2018. The firefighters rescued an unconscious Saugus resident from an apartment building.
The fire broke out in a kitchen at 7 Falmouth St., and when firefighters arrived, a scan of the apartment with a thermal imaging camera showed no one was in the home. But Cross heard the man, who was unconscious but breathing, cough about 15 to 20 feet from where he was standing in a smoke-filled hallway.
He and Arone dragged the man from the heat of the kitchen and others helped by grabbing his legs and armpits and dragging him into the hall, said Newbury.
The man was brought to the hospital in critical condition but survived.
This isn’t the first time Cross has been honored for his bravery. He is also a 2008 recipient of the Medal of Valor for his rescue of a double amputee while he was off-duty.
Cross and Arone received the award at a ceremony held during the annual Firefighter Memorial Sunday exercises at Saugus Fire headquarters on Sunday, June 9.
The event also honored Saugus firefighters who served the community and have died. Fire departments across the nation recognize the second Sunday in June as a day of remembrance for these brave men and women.
