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Three
Somerville Police Officers were among nineteen officers honored for
acts of heroism in a ceremony held in Washington D.C. during National
Police Week. Officers Alex Capobianco, Derrick Dottin and Steve St.
Hilaire were named Officers of the Month by the National Law
Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) for their actions as first
responders to a Somerville house fire on December 6, 2007. Chief
Anthony Holloway was on hand to offer his personal congratulations to
the officers. Each officer was presented with the NLEOMF award, which
displays a lion as a symbol of courage. They were selected from
hundreds of nominations from across the country to be a part of the
Officer of the Month program.
The three Somerville officers
played a crucial role in a rescue operation in December, 2006. Shortly
after 11:00 p.m. on December 6th, emergency 911 dispatchers reported a
fire at a century-old home on Harvard Street. Although the first
responders arrived within minutes, the wood-frame structure was totally
engulfed in flames.
Officer Derrick Dottin, who was among the
first to arrive, was told that two people were trapped inside the
blazing home. Without hesitation, he ran along the right side of the
house amidst searing flames and burning debris, as Officer Alex
Capobianco and Steve St. Hilaire entered through an adjoining yard. At
the rear of the home, all three officers heard a faint groan from
inside the house. Officers Capobianco and St. Hilaire broke windows as
Officer Dottin kicked in the rear door. More smoke and flames reduced
visibility to near zero. After several attempts to enter the building,
Officers Dottin and Capobianco made their way in, but the intense smoke
limited the time they could remain in the structure.
After
repeated trips into what had become a full-blown inferno, Officer
Dottin finally caught a glimpse of a woman's foot. He tried to pull the
victim toward him, but debris had trapped her, and she was unable to
move. Pushing even further into the disintegrating structure – and with
the assistance of Officer Capobianco, who has joined him, Officer
Dottin was able to lift the unconscious woman over his shoulder and
carry her to a rear yard. Finding her unresponsive, Officer St. Hilaire
began CPR, working feverishly until he detected a faint pulse.
Although
out of the building, the officers and the victim continued to be
showered with flaming debris. Officers Dottin and Capobianco again
carried the victim out of harm's way. Simultaneously, firefighters
arrived and were able to rescue a second victim who was still inside
the burning home. Although the home was totally destroyed, both victims
survived their injuries.
The NLEOMF, a nonprofit organization
established in 1984 to honor the service and sacrifice of America's law
enforcement officers. Presently, the names of more than 18,000 officers
who were killed in the line of duty are engraved on the walls of the
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
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