Annual Lifesaver's Recognition Day
Next Friday, September 11 at 5 p.m. the Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum will honor four remarkable men and women who went beyond the call of duty to save lives on and around Nantucket Island in recent months. They are: Sgt. David Aguiar (Ret); Dispatcher Melinda Burns; Harbormaster David Fronzuto and Assistant Harbormaster Sheila Lucy.
Aguair was in the Cliff Road vicinity when he heard the call for help from a resident whose child was in their swimming pool and in danger of drowning on the scanner. Aguair saved the child’s life.
Burns received a 911 call from a mother whose baby had stopped breathing. He calmly and carefully coached the mother through CPR until the baby resumed breathing and, simultaneously, dispatched the EMTs and an ambulance to the home.
Fronzuto and Lucy responded to a 911 call to assist two sailors on a capsized Sunfish off the north shore. They saved the life of one of the sailors and retrieved the body of the other.
The awards will be presented by Bob Egan, president of the Egan Maritime Institute and Phil Read, president of the Nantucket Shipwreck and Lifesaving Museum Advisory Board and vice president of the Egan Maritime.
Lifesavers Recognition Day is an annual event created and sponsored by the Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum to acknowledge the island’s longstanding tradition of life-saving efforts within the community. Past honorees include the men and women of USCG Brant Point, A Safe Place, Justin Dunham (2006), Andy Quinn (2007), Robert McKee and Johnny Backus (2008).
Prior to making the awards, there will be a brief observance in honor of the New York City Firemen for their bravery during the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers — September 11, 2001.
The Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum was established in 1968 in its beautiful Polpis setting and was renovated and expanded just last year. It tells the dramatic and often tragic tales of wrecks and rescues in the waters around Nantucket Island. Treacherous shoals and frequent inclement and unpredictable weather led to more than 700 shipwrecks around Nantucket—so many that the area was called “a graveyard of the Atlantic.” The museum contains both permanent and changing exhibits that appeal to both children and adults. Interactivity and engaging audio and video displays make the museum easy to self-tour. The expertly produced film You Have To Go Out... tells the exciting tale of the rescue of the H.P. Kirkham from the dreaded Rose and Crown shoal in 1892. Several programs are also offered daily by museum educators. The museum is open till mid-October, with daily hours from 10 am to 4 pm. Admission is just $5 for adults and $3 for students ages 5 to 18; the fee also includes admission to the historic Coffin School in town. For more about the fascinating Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum, visit their site at www.NantucketLifesavingMuseum.com.
The awards ceremony on September 11 will be held at the Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum, 158 Polpis Road. Tickets must be purchased in advance – none will be available at the door. Space is limited to the first 100 reservations, so call soon: 508-228-2505.
