Worcester, MA, Firefighter Dies 19 Years after Sustaining Serious On-Duty Injury
Mark Stomski, who was seriously injured in 2006 when a Worcester fire apparatus had a mechanical issue, passed away Saturday.
After the rig's brakes failed, the fire apparatus rolled backwards and Stomski was struck by a door.
According to a 2007 Worcester Telegram story, Stomski sustained serious bruising in his chest and they found blood clots in his lungs. He was placed on oxygen for respiratory assistance.
“He loved the fire department and his family,” Stomski's classmate and longtime friend, Adam Roche told the newspaper.
Roche, now an assistant chief with the Worcester Fire Department, joined the department in 2004. Roche called Stomski an “consummate advocate” for Worcester's fire department.
A year after the incident inside the McKeon Road fire station, Stomski told the newspaper that medication and treatment did not resolve the clotting issues.
He was medically retired in 2008.
He sought treatment in California where he diagnosed with secondary pulmonary hypertension.
Stomski leaves behind a wife and three children.
Peter Matthews | Editor-in-Chief/Conference Director
Peter Matthews is the conference director and editor-in-chief of Firehouse. He has worked at Firehouse since 1999, serving in various roles on both Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com staffs. He completed an internship with the Rochester, NY, Fire Department and served with fire departments in Rush, NY, and Laurel, MD, and was a lieutenant with the Glenwood Fire Company in Glenwood, NY. Matthews served as photographer for the St. Paul, MN, Fire Department.
