Nashua man honored for heroic fire rescue of 97-year-old woman

Jose M. Pichardo of Nashua accepts the Carnegie Award from State Fire Marshal Sean P. Toomey on Tuesday in Nashua (Courtesy photo).

NASHUA - New Hampshire State Fire Marshal Sean P. Toomey and Nashua Fire Chief Steve M. Buxton hosted an honorary ceremony on Tuesday presenting the Carnegie Medal Award to 41-year-old Jose M. Pichardo of Nashua.

The ceremony was held at the Nashua Fire Rescue Station on E. Hollis Street.

Pichardo was recognized in connection with his fire rescue of an elderly woman whose home caught on fire on Oct. 1, 2021. Pichardo was driving home from work when he saw flames coming from the back of Shirley M. Buder's home. Pichardo kicked down the locked front door and crawled toward the sound of Buder's voice, where he found the 97-year-old sitting in a chair in her living room.

Telling her to remain in the chair, Pichardo dragged the chair to the front door and onto the home's porch where another man assisted him in carrying her away from the house. Buder was hospitalized for smoke inhalation and recovered in two days. Pichardo also suffered from smoke inhalation but recovered the following day.

The Carnegie Medal is a prestigious award, considered one of the highest civilian honors in the U.S. and Canada. The recipients of this honor are civilians who knowingly and voluntarily risk death or serious physical injury to an extraordinary degree to save the life of another person. Nominations are submitted to the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission and are evaluated against a clearly defined set of criteria and requirements, largely established in 1904.

Jose Pichardo is the 50th recipient to receive the Carnegie Medal in New Hampshire.