Crime & Safety
Burned Teen Thanks Firefighters for Rescue, $2K Donation
The Winnacunnet Road fire station was the backdrop Thursday to a heartwarming gesture between firefighters and a local teen.
A large crowd of family and friends clapped and cheered Thursday as Bryce Parker got to thank and meet for the first time some of the Hampton firefighters who helped save his life earlier this year.
Parker, 17, a cross-country athlete who's entering his senior year at Winnacunnet High School this fall, suffered second- and third-degree burns on 14 percent of his body while trying to protect his garage from a gas fire in May.
Firefighters honored him Thursday and gave him a check for $2,000 from locally-raised International Association of Firefighters Burn Foundation money to help Parker in his recovery.
Parker was appreciative of the gesture, stating that the money, if he decides to keep it, will help pay for his expensive recovery bills — something he was so worried about that he "didn't want to be airlifted" after the fire because of the cost.
"There's nobody more fitting that I could see to deserve this," said Firefighter Jason Newman, the local Burn Foundation chair who spearheaded the donation.
Video from the ceremony and donation is attached above.
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