Fire chief injured during Merrimack Valley explosions slowly recovers

NORFOLK, Mass. — The Norfolk Deputy Fire Chief is on the road to recovery after he was injured while fighting fires caused by natural gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley.

Pete Petruchik, the Norfolk Deputy Fire Chief, says he didn't know what to expect when his crews got the call to help out in the aftermath of the explosions.

Petruchik and his crews were asked to cover calls out of the South Lawrence Fire House and got called to a three-alarm fire in an apartment building. They were almost done putting out the fire when Petruchik went to check a room on the second floor.

"I came to the rear wall. and naturally instinctively when you get to a wall you want to put your arm out. so thats what I did I put my right arm out and the second I put my arm out, right where I stepped, the floor gave way," said Petruchik.

During his fall, Petruchik hyper extended his arm and broke his humerus near the shoulder. The Lawrence Fire Chief helped him take his gear off right after the incident.

First, he was rushed to Lawrence General Hospital and then later referred to the Boston Shoulder Institute at Mass General Hospital where Dr. Jon J.P. Warner recommended surgery.

Dr. Warner did something called an allograph, a procedure where part of a femur bone from a cadaver is placed in the void the break left in Petruchik's shoulder.

"That bone was taken and shaped so it fits exactly perfectly to restore the foundation, and I fit it in where there was a missing piece, where the bone had been crushed," said Dr. Warner.

Petruchiki now has a plate and several screws in his arm and several months of recovery ahead of him. Given what could have happened, however, he says he's incredibly thankful.

"I feel so fortunate that this is all that happened and that I was taken such good care of here at MGH," said Petruchik.

Dr. Warner says Petruchik is recovering remarkably well so far and is hoping he'll be able to go back to work by January.

MORE: Norfolk deputy fire chief released from hospital

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