Carnegie Hero Jose M. Pichardo poses with New Hampshire Fire Marshal Sean P. Toomey, who presented Pichardo with the Carnegie Medal at a June 20 presentation at the Nashua (New Hampshire) Fire Rescue Station.
In October 2021, Pichardo kicked down the front door of a burning home. As thick, black smoke issued from the doorway, he went to his hands and knees and crawled into the living room. Despite intense heat and limited visibility, Pichardo followed the sound of the voice of the 97-year-old woman inside, finding her seated in a chair. He dragged the chair to the home’s front porch and then farther from the house to safety.
“You entered a burning residence at great personal risk to rescue a trapped elderly resident,” Fire Chief Steven Buxton told Pichardo during the ceremony. “Your willingness to become involved made a difference.”
The woman was hospitalized overnight for treatment of smoke inhalation, but she recovered. Pichardo also inhaled smoke, but he recovered the next day.
Photo courtesy of the state Office of the Fire Marshal.