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Mass. department rallies around firefighters’ families after crash

The firefighters planned two comedy nights in March and all the proceeds went to the families of those affected

By Katina Caraganis
Sentinel and Enterprise

ASHBY, Mass. — Firefighting is like a brotherhood, and when the members of the Ashby Fire Department heard about a two-car accident that killed two of their own and severely injured another, they knew they had to step in to help.

Michelle Martens, 36, and her 16-year-old son, Justin Fournier, of Turnpike Road in Ashby, were riding in a Kia Sportage around 10:30 a.m. on the morning on Feb. 17 when the car crossed over a marked land on Ashby State Road in Fitchburg and struck another car driven by Wayne Patenaude.

Martens and Fournier, both firefighters, were pronounced dead at the scene, and Patenaude, a fellow firefighter, was brought to UMass Medical Center in Worcester with a shattered heel.

Full story: Ashby department rallies around firefighters’ families after crash