Crosby's Market Employee Recognized
Fire Chief Jason Gilliland presented Crosby's Market employee Gary Orellana with a plaque recognizing his quick response to a fire allegedly set outside of Eastern Bank in January.
Fire Chief Jason Gilliland presents Gary Orellana with a plaque at Abbot Hall Wednesday night.
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After hearing from Fire Chief Jason Gilliland Wednesday night, the small crowd inside the Selectmen's Meeting Room of Abbot Hall rose to their feet to give Gary Orellana a standing ovation.
Gilliland was on hand to present Orellana, 21, of Lynn, with a plaque recognizing his quick response to a fire that was allegedly set by two local teenagers outside of Eastern Bank in January.
"On behalf of the Marblehead Fire Department, I want to present you with this plaque for a job well done," Gilliland said, adding that Orellana's actions likely prevented the fire from spreading to the rest of the building.
On the night of Jan. 8, local fire and police units responded to the area outside of the bank after a passer-by reported a bush burning against the building.
When firefighters arrived on scene, they found that Orellana, who works in the Crosby's deli department, had already raced outside and put out the flames with a fire extinguisher.
"Luckily he knew to immediately go for the fire extinguisher," Crosby's manager Brian MacIntyre said after the incident. "It was nice to see him act so quickly. Sometimes people freeze up when something like this happens."
Had Orellana not acted as quickly as he did, MacIntyre said the damage to the bank could have been much worse.
"Another five minutes and I think the building would have caught," MacIntyre said. "We're very proud of him."
In the days following the incident, the Marblehead Police Department formally charged two 14-year-old boys with starting the fire with a cigarette lighter.
In This article
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Abbot Hall, Town of Marblehead
188 Washington St, Marblehead, MA -
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Eastern Bank Banking Offices
118 Washington St, Marblehead, MA -
Town of Marblehead - Police Dept
11 Gerry St, Marblehead, MA -
Town of Marblehead - Fire Dept
1 Ocean Ave, Marblehead, MA
