Mansfield Marathon Volunteers Experience Bombings

Every year, members of the Mansfield Emergency Management Agency go to Boston to volunteer on Marathon Monday. Before the race, Lt. David Cramer has a tradition where he takes a photo of the finish line before the race begins. Taking that photo early in the day, Cramer, nor any other volunteer could imagine what would happen in only a few hours.

Cramer was behind Trinity Church on St. James Ave. when he heard the explosions. Like others, he thought it was a canon until he got a view of the finish line.

“I saw two plumes of white smoke rising over the Library on Boylston St. and said ‘that was a explosion at the Finish line area,’”  Cramer said.

Another volunteer, Jeremy Breef-Pilz, was in Copley Square when the explosion happened, waiting to relieve another volunteer who was working in the finish area.

“When I heard the first one (explosion), I thought something had collapsed or fallen on the roof of the trailer,” Breef-Pilz said. “Since I was outside when the second explosion occurred  I heard it unattenuated, it sounded like the report from a cannon or fireworks, which did not make sense in the situation I was in.”

Unable to see the actual scene, Lt. Matthew Brennan was in the amateur radio net controller trailer on the corner of Dartmouth St. and Boylston St., making sure that knowledge of what happened made it up to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and that everyone on his radio frequency was ok.

From his perspective all he saw were runners and some volunteers running away from the finish line while police officers, firefighters, and other volunteers going towards the explosion.

To help maintain order after the explosion, Cramer and his group were responsible with letting emergency vehicles and workers into a medical tent until they were relived by Boston PD at 5:30 p.m.  Set up near the family area, there was also a sense of worry from family members and firends looking for runners in the moments after the explosion.

Despite the chaos and fear that came from the Boston Marathon, all three men plan to be back next year to volunteer and assists runners.

“The events on Monday just stressed the importance of volunteers have at the Marathon. My hope is that these events will result in a surge of additional volunteers next year,” Brennan said.