Madeline “Amy” Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery (2006)

This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in which at least 206 people with ties to Massachusetts perished. The first flights to be hijacked took off from Boston Logan International Airport. Madeline “Amy” Sweeney, a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11, displayed extraordinary cool under extreme pressure during the hijacking. The Massachusetts 9/11 Fund Blog is profiling the Sweeney Award recipients for the past quarter century every week leading up to the naming of the 2026 Honoree(s) at the 25th Anniversary Commemoration on September 11th.

Neighbors rescue worker knocked unconscious by blast in Plum Island home

On August 20, 2005, a home exploded on the Newburyport section of Plum Island, MA. Two subcontractors – father and son – were spraying waterproofing material in a subbasement when a pilot light inside the house ignited vapors from the sealant.

Neighbors responding to the scene included Henry Garvey, Jerry Morkeski, Greg Deighan and Adam Speed.

The son, who was working in an eight-foot-deep concrete cistern located below ground under the utility room, was severely burned and lay unconscious on the floor of the cistern. To complicate matters, dense smoke filled the utility room, and even denser smoke came from the cistern, only accessible through a floor hatch.

Upon hearing that the son was unconscious below, Garvey descended on a stepladder to the floor of the cistern. Holding his breath, Garvey initially couldn’t locate the son. He climbed partially back through the hatch for air before descending again – this time using a piece of cut hose for a makeshift breathing tube – to search for the son.

Inhaling acrid smoke, Garvey was forced to return yet again to the hatch for more air. With the aid of flashlights, the four men were then able to locate the son on the floor, not far from the base of the stepladder.

Garvey descended a third time into the cistern, dragging the son to the ladder. The four men hoisted the son up the ladder to the hatch and pulled him from the cistern.

The son required extensive hospitalization for treatment, including several surgeries, for his burns. His father, tragically, was fatally injured in the explosion. Garvey was treated for smoke inhalation.

"I'm not sorry I did it," Garvey, who also received the Carnegie Medal for extraordinary heroism, told The Record Citizen. "I can only hope that someone would do the same for me."

Next week: Group home attendant evacuates residents after chemical plant blast