Now everyone knows what Jason Menard’s family already did – he’s a hero

In the hours after Worcester Fire Lt. Jason Menard perished saving the lives of his brethren, firefighters were at his home, telling his wife and three children how their father was a true hero.

But Menard’s wife, Tina, and their children already knew that. He’d been a hero to them long before he died saving others.

“It’s nothing that they didn’t know,” said Worcester Fire Lt. Michael Papagni, president of Worcester Firefighters Local 1009. “We talked to them about the kind of person their father was.”

Their father was passionate about his job, firefighters told Menard’s children, and was a dedicated, loving father and husband.

“That’s no mystery to them,” Papagni told me Thursday. “They know how wonderful their father is. They know that their father is a hero.”

Menard, 39, leaves two children in high school and one in elementary school.

“His children are wonderful, kind, polite people that are exactly like Jason,” Papagni said. “You can hear it in their voices and just in talking to them you can see the reflection of Jason in his children. They’re a very special family.”

Papagni was among the union officials who went to the family’s home to offer comfort and condolences, and to make sure the family knows they will always support them.

“These times are always difficult but we take that responsibility very seriously, that we’re going to support that family in the toughest of times and make sure they have everything they need,” Papagni said.

The family’s bags were all packed and they planned to leave for Disney when Menard finished his shift on Wednesday morning.

Papagni was there fighting the heavy fire, too.

“What Jason did was simply heroic,” said Papagni.  “He put the lives of his crew ahead of his own and that is without measure.”

Firefighter Chris Pace, one of the two firefighters Menard saved, remains hospitalized after falling from a third-floor window, Papagni said, and faces a long road of recovery.

Firefighters and people from across the country have reached out wanting to help. The Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts Foundation has set up a fund for the Menard family at events.fmpevents.com/e/menardchildrensfund. On Friday morning, the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, named after a firefighter who died saving others on Sept. 11, will announce plans to pay off the Menard’s mortgage.

Family members filled the Menard family’s home. “The loss of Jason will be a void that’s never filled,” Papagni said, “but they’ll always be there for each other and we’ll always be there for them.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/33PVLg2