Three Revere police officers were presented with Certificates of Merit by the city council Monday evening in recognition of their heroic actions during a fire on North Shore Road on August 19.
Sgt. Sean Matthews, Sgt. Keith Lessner, and Officer Orion Kong all entered a burning building at 1219 North Shore Road in the early morning hours of August 19 before the arrival of the fire department to ensure that all the occupants were safely evacuated.
“Every day, the men and women of the Revere Police Department and Fire Department leave their homes and go out not knowing what they are going to face,” said Council President Marc Silvestri. “Their families wonder, are they going to come home that night? It’s evenings like August 19 that really put that perspective into play.”
Lessner and Kong were on a detail at about 12:40 a.m. on August 19 on North Shore Road when they called for additional patrol units at their location for the fire.
“They made entry to the house in an attempt to evacuate any occupants inside,” said Silvestri. “At this time, there was still no fire department on site. As Sgt. Lessner and Officer Kong approached the door of 1219, they were met by individuals running out and in need of help.”
Although the officers inhaled large amounts of smoke, they continued to go into the property to make sure all the occupants were able to get out safely, Silvestri said.
“At that time, Sgt. Matthews arrived in Vehicle 1 and was on scene shortly after,” said Silvestri. “He was familiar with the residents because of calls in the past, so he went up the back and met Officer Kong in an apartment where they located a female tenant and her small dog inside and safely removed them from the apartment.”
The fire department and Cataldo Ambulance arrived on the scene shortly after and transported all the occupants to Melrose-Wakefield Hospital.
“That is pretty amazing for our police officers to do,” said Silvestri. “Ninety percent of the time we are calling 911 waiting for the fire department to get there. These officers reacted differently and probably saved some lives.”
