HINGHAM, MASS. (WHDH) – An off-duty fire chief who, along with his brother, rushed to the aid of victims of a boating accident off Hingham on Friday that left two people hospitalized with serious injuries is now being praised for his actions.
“It was a natural instinct to help them,” said Hanson Fire Chief Robert O’Brien, who was enjoying a day of fishing with his brother Ed O’Brien, a Weymouth police officer, when they came upon the chaotic scene following a collision between a powerboat and a sailboat. The sailboat, he said, was sinking.
“I could see that the woman I was with had been hit by the boat’s propeller, but we didn’t know how bad it was until we got her out of the water and onto the police boat. When we brought the other gentleman across, my brother realized he had a life-threatening injury,” he said.
Both victims were taken to Boston Medical Center. The people on the motorboat were uninjured.
When asked what he thought about him and his brother being celebrated as heroes, O’Brien said: “We do our work because we like to help people.”
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