By Ryan Mancini
masslive.com
WORCESTER COUNTY, Mass. — A group of Central Massachusetts first responders gathered in Paxton on Monday and received the Team Excellence and Merit, or TEAM, Award from Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr . for their work in saving an injured woman last year.
Paxton dispatchers, firefighters, police officers and Department of Conservation and Recreation park rangers gathered at the Paxton Fire Department building to receive their awards.
First responders were called out on the morning of July 27, 2024, to Moore State Park, about a reported injured hiker. At around 10:14 a.m., a 911 call was made to the Wachusett Regional Emergency Communications Center about the hiker, who was about a half-mile into the woods on the park’s rear trail.
“Less than 30 minutes later, Paxton firefighters had located the woman, who had fallen and sustained a very large cut along her arm,” Early said on Monday. “They quickly assessed her injuries and knew that she was going to have to be carried out of the woods.”
Despite steep terrain and warm temperatures in the mid-80s, first responders took turns to carry her.
“Together, they successfully brought the woman out of the woods at about 11:30 a.m. She went to the care of a waiting ambulance and was taken to the hospital, where she underwent surgery for her injury,” Early said.
The hiker’s husband, Richard Trumbull , was with her through the entire experience and also received an award on Monday. His wife was not at Monday’s ceremony.
“On behalf of my wife and myself, a sincere thank you,” Trumbull said. “This is really, really amazing work that indicates the TEAM Award. That’s what really stood out the most, to me, was just the teamwork associated with all these different departments that all came together and everybody just had individual expertise in different areas ... It was amazing, amazing. Outstanding. Thank you.”
Paxton Fire Chief Michael Pingitore , who was also among the first responders to receive the TEAM Award, said he could not “say enough about these guys. They knew how to face that terrain and get out of there.”
The first responders and one civilian who received the TEAM Award on Monday were:
Paxton Fire Department
- Chief Michael Pingitore
- Deputy Chief Michael Benoit
- Firefighter/Paramedic Richard McGinn
- Firefighter/EMT Meghan Stevens
- Firefighter/EMT Emily Goodsell
Paxton Police Department
- Sgt. Forrect Thorpe
Wachusett Regional Emergency Communication Center
- Dispatcher Alice Ordung
- Dispatcher Emily Lebeau
- Dispatcher Jordan Smith
- Dispatcher Supervisor Abby Parkinson
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
- Ranger Lt. Rebecca Baronoski
- Forest and Park Supervisor Shane McCaffrey
Civilian
- Richard Trumbull
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