The Hartford Courant
MANCHESTER, Conn. — The Eighth Utilities Fire Department of Manchester is honoring several firefighters for helping members of the public despite being off duty.
In May, while driving to a fire marshal class, Fire Chief Paul Litrico and Capt. Steve Hilinski saw a vehicle in the oncoming lane roll over and come to rest in the median of I-91 in Wethersfield.
Litrico and Hilinski stopped to help the driver, who was trapped in the vehicle. They were assisted by firefighter Shawn Morris who was following them to the same class.
The firefighters determined the driver was having a heart attack. Litrico and Morris cut the seat belt, removed her and the three performed CPR on her for almost 20 minutes until an ambulance arrived.
The woman later died of her injuries. The three are receiving the medal of distinguished service.
In January 2007, on their way back from helping other firefighters in Hartford, firefighters Chris Roy, who is now a lieutenant, Jeff Roy, Ryan Bycholski and Josh Roye witnessed a fiery crash on I-84 in East Hartford.
The four stopped to help. They removed a person who was stuck in an SUV before it burst into flames.
The firefighters were unable to save the two people who were trapped in the other vehicle because it already had caught fire by the time they arrived.
The four are receiving the medal of distinguished service by the department.
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