LYNNFIELD — It makes sense that Steve Furey’s new Oris Divers Sixty-Five watch is water-resistant: after all, Furey has been getting wet fighting fires for five decades.
Furey is among 50 “local heroes” honored this week by the Oris Holstein/Oris Watches USA. As coronavirus overspread the globe in March, the Swiss firm in March launched a campaign to solicit international nominations for people who spend their lives sacrificing for others.
“We had more than 1,000 nominations from all over the world. Stories of doctors, nurses, carers, first responders, teachers, parents, pharmacists, shopkeepers, seamstresses and many more,” said Oris Marketing Director Joanne Lii.
Nominated by his son, Roger, Furey made the final nomination selection cut and, on Wednesday in front of the Summer Street fire station, received an Oris watch and Oris’ congratulations.
“It wasn’t just the watch, it was an honor. I didn’t know there were so many applicants and that it was a world-wide selection,” Furey said.
Furey grew up in Lynnfield’s Glen Meadow neighborhood and has loved firefighting for as long as he can remember. He still owns the Tonka fire truck he played with as a child.
A part-time town call firefighter from 1972 to 2019, Furey rushed as a teenager from the high school to fight fires. He also worked part-time as town wiring inspector from 1983 to 2013.
“Steve’s a great guy who dedicated a lot of his life to the town of Lynnfield,” said Fire Chef Glenn Davis.
Furey switched to working as an auxiliary firefighter last year and Roger Furey is a call firefighter. Steve Furey and his wife, Judith Potter, also have a son, John. Even as coronavirus reconfigured medical care, the Fureys rallied to ensure Potter continued receiving cancer treatments at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Lii described Furey and other “local heroes” honored by Oris as people who contributed to their communities to “keep the world running” and continue to make local contributions during coronavirus.
“It was a huge privilege to share their stories. Oris Local Heroes are the world’s heroes,” she said.
Davis agreed.
“Any recognition to come Steve’s way is well deserved,” he said.
