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| Gardner Fire Chief Richard Ares, right, talks with Firefighter Timothy Tenney during a six-alarm fire on Sherman Street in May. Chief Ares suffered serious injuries from a fall in a fire Friday in Templeton. T&G File Photo/George Barnes |
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Posted Jul. 7, 2015 at 4:39 PM
Updated Jul 7, 2015 at 5:14 PM
GARDNER - Just fitted with a back brace, Fire Chief Richard Ares was able to sit up Tuesday for the first time since he fell from a porch Friday while fighting a fire in Templeton.
Being treated at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester for three broken vertebrae in his back, a concussion and a laceration to the head, Chief Ares, 59, has a long recovery ahead, but he hopes to return to work as soon as possible.
Always in the thick of fighting fires, Chief Ares was in Templeton on mutual aid assisting the town at a house fire on North Main Street. While he was operating a hose on a porch, something caused him to lose his footing and fall backward. The fire in the house at 165 North Main St. started in the cellar and eventually went through the roof. The chief said pressure changing in a hose may have caused him to fall, but he isn't sure.
"Going over backward, I hit the porch railing, which gave way, and I fell eight feet to the ground," he said.
Landing on the ground on his back, he was unconscious for a short time. He was conscious when he was taken by helicopter to the Worcester hospital, where he was initially treated for a laceration to the head. It was later learned he had back injuries and a concussion.
Mayor Mark P. Hawke said the chief's prognosis has changed several times, including doctors finding a bone chip in his back. Initially they planned to operate to remove the chip but then decided it would heal, canceling plans for the operation. On Tuesday afternoon, doctors fitted him with a back brace to stabilize and protect his back while it heals.
Chief Ares said he has been injured on the job a few times in his 40 years with the department, but not to this extent. He is hoping to return home soon, but recovery is expected to take several months, he said.
"I believe I will have the brace on six to eight weeks and probably six to eight months of rest at home before I can return to work," he said. "I'm planning to be back."
Mayor Hawke said it is still being decided what will be done for the interim. He said Fire Capt. Gregory LaGoy is running the department in the chief's absence in the short-term.
"Because the chief's prognosis changed repeatedly over the past couple of days, we're going to take it week by week," he said. "I talked to the chief and I talked with Capt. LaGoy and we agreed in three or four weeks we'll re-evaluate it."
Chief Areas was appointed in 2014 to replace retiring Fire Chief Ronald Therrien. He has been on the department since he was a teenager, serving as firefighter, lieutenant, captain and chief.
The cause of the fire in Templeton remains under investigation. The house is a total loss.
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