Mansfield Firefighters Deployed in NJ, NY and CT to Help with Relief Efforts from Sandy

Mansfield Firefighters, members of Federal Urban Search and Rescue section of the Federal Emergency Management Association, are working now in storm areas of the country affected by Sandy.

The three firefighters have been members of the division for a long time, accoding to Mansfield fire chief Neal Boldrighini said.

“They were out in Irene, they were out in the tornadoes and they were there at (September 11),” he said.

Bruce Naslund, Mark Goyette and Gerald MacNamara volunteered and were deployed in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.

“They’re long-term members, they really get into it, they come back pretty exhausted and they’ve done an incredible amount of work,” he said. “They never brag about it.”

Search and rescue involves locating, extricating and initial medial stabilization of any victim trapped by a multitude of emergency situations.

“These three guys serve different roles within the framework of the team, collectively they’re all doing an incredible job,” Boldrighini said. “The amount of training they do is just remarkable.”

The three firefighters were activated on the day of the storm and initially went to Connecticut, then to Queens in New York and are now in New Jersey.

“They’ve been redeployed to the hardest hit areas of New Jersey,” Boldrighini said.