Six-year-old boy honored for heroic act to save family
Date: 7/2/2012
July 2, 2012 By Chris Maza
chrism@thereminder.comEAST LONGMEADOW — Parents of elementary school students in East Longmeadow can rest assured that when Firefighter Edward McClandish speaks to their class, it's not simply a show-and-tell session; it is part of a comprehensive fire safety program that saves lives.
The recent actions of one kindergartener are proof positive of that.
Deus Guzman, a 6-year-old Springfield resident who attends Meadow Brook Elementary School, was cited for heroism by the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal's office and the Board of Selectmen at its June 26 meeting in recognition of his efforts in helping his family out of a dangerous situation.
"The importance to us is he lives in Springfield, but he attends school in East Longmeadow at Meadow Brook School," he said. "As a result of attending East Longmeadow schools, he goes through our S.A.F.E. (Student Awareness of Fire Education) student education program. I thought it was a good thing that we should honor this young man."
In the early morning hours of May 1, Guzman was awake on the first floor of his family's home when he realized that the porch at the front of the residence was on fire. At that moment, he woke his mother, who was asleep on the second floor, alerted her to the danger and helped her get his younger brother Cruz, 4, and sister Geia, 2, out of the house.
Because of his quick response to the situation, his mother was able to alert the Springfield Fire Department, who arrived in time to extinguish the fire before it spread to the house and caused significant damage.
"Thank God for my big boy being the hero once again because if he hadn't woken us up it would have been a lot worse," Guzman's mother said. "And thanks to the Fire Department who was here within two minutes with three fire trucks, two cruisers and an ambulance."
Guzman shyly received a citation from the Board of Selectmen and a separate citation from Jennifer Meith of the Fire Marshal's office, along with a T-shirt that read, "S.A.F.E. Young Hero," while several family members, Superintendent Gordon Smith, retired Meadow Brook Elementary School Principal Judith Fletcher, Guzman's kindergarten teacher Jamie Corcoran and others looked on.
"We only have about 280 children in our state that can wear our T-shirt," Meith told the selectmen.
Brady said that the events and recognition highlight the need for and effectiveness of the S.A.F.E. program, which McClandish explained involves him visiting the town's elementary schools and occasionally Birchland Park Middle School to give an age-appropriate lesson on all different aspects of fire safety.
"This coming year will be my 10th year doing fire education in the public schools and this is the second instance I know of personally where my instruction has resulted in positive outcomes such as this," McClandish said. "I, of course, hope that what I teach never has to be applied in real life, but unfortunately fires are inevitable and when they do occur, I'd like to think that a child, adult, whoever, knows what to do and how to react properly.
"I'm very pleased to see that through my efforts and the efforts of everyone else involved in fire safety education, state and nation-wide, lessons are being learned and lives are being saved as a result of it," he added.
Meith told the board that in conducting nearly two decades of fire safety training, the S.A.F.E. program has dramatically improved the statistics regarding child fire deaths.
"We're about to enter 18th year and we have managed to reduce the number of child fire deaths in Massachusetts by 70 percent. When I first started this job, we used to lose about 25 children to fire a year and now on average it's about five," she said. "Last year we lost only one person under the age of 18 to fire and that fire was not in a building. Last year was the first year we lost no one under 18 in a building fire anywhere in the Commonwealth. I believe we can certainly attribute that to the efforts of people like Firefighter McClandish."
