A night of honor for six of Peabody’s firefighter heroes

By Bob Croce, EOP Publisher

It was an evening of honor for the Peabody Fire Department last night at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, as several of our brave firefighters were honored at 2012 Firefighter of the Year Awards,

Firefighter Jim Rice, who made the ultimate sacrifice when he lost his life a year ago while battling a fire on Hancock Street, received the Medal of Honor, the highest honor presented at the awards ceremony. Jim’s wife Amy, on behalf of Jim and their children Alyssa, Katelyn and Ryan, accepted the award last night from Governor Deval Patrick.

But it was also an evening to honor five additional Peabody heroes:

•  Deputy Chief Eric Harrison, who was a captain last December, received a Medal of Valor for his actions while going into the building on Hancock Street with his team in an effort to save Firefighter Rice, who had become trapped.

• An award for “Meritorious Conduct.” Also went to Capt. Dale Kimball and firefighters Stephen Pellegrini, Paul LaPlante and Paul Rheaume for their heroic save of a Peabody teen from a fiery car wreck on Herrick Road last December.

The Peabody Patch today does a really nice job with full details from last night’s ceremony. You can check it out by clicking here.

Tags: Firefighter awards, Firefighter Rice, Peabody fire department