Firefighter helping driver is attacked in Charlestown

It was late Sunday when the tractor-trailer pulled up to Charlestown's Sullivan Square fire station, a routine stop for truck drivers who get lost trying to navigate the nearby rotary.

Lieutenant Chris Corwin and Firefighter Daniel Donahoe gave the driver directions and started helping him back up the 18-wheeler when a sedan tried to sneak around the rear of the truck. When Corwin asked the driver to wait, the driver started swearing, telling Corwin he would run him over if he did not move, Corwin said.

Then, four men wearing New York Yankees caps, all believed to be in their 20s, rushed out of the car and began beating Corwin, hitting him with a club and kicking him, Corwin and Donahoe said. Corwin received at least 14 stitches. He had a broken eye socket and bruises. He spent the night at Massachusetts General Hospital.

"I don't know where these guys were coming from or what was their problem," said Corwin, 42, an 18-year veteran who was recovering last night at his home in Weymouth. "Firefighters aren't a threat to anybody; we're there to help. I think this is an extreme example of road rage and the lack of respect some people have in society."

Police said last night they had not arrested any suspects and could not identify the make of the car in which the men fled at about 11:30 p.m., after Donahoe jumped into the melee and began pulling the men off Corwin.

"If it wasn't for Donahoe, I don't know what would have happened," Corwin said in a telephone interview. "I hold him in the highest regard."

Donahoe, a 24-year-old rookie who has been a firefighter for about 10 months, said that at first he did not realize what was happening. "I looked away to guide the truck, and when I looked back, they were stomping on top of him," he said.

Donahoe said he was hit on the head several times. Aside from pain in his hands, he said he was fine and has returned to duty. "We deal with things every day, and we have to be ready for everything, but I never thought we'd have to be ready for this," said Donahoe, who normally works at another fire station but was doing a detail at the Sullivan Square station Sunday. "We're there to save people; there's no reason they should be attacking us. Things like this shouldn't happen."

At the Sullivan Square fire station last night, Lieutenant Martin Fernandes described Corwin as a terrible cook but a big help to the many people who stop at the station seeking help. "He's always out there helping people," said Fernandes, adding that he could not recall a similar act of violence against a firefighter. "That's what he was doing."

Steve MacDonald, a spokesman for the Fire Department, said both firefighters were wearing uniforms and clearly identifiable.

"This is absolutely crazy," MacDonald said. "This is a case of four people who didn't have the patience to wait a few minutes. Corwin's now going to miss a few weeks because these guys couldn't wait."

After the attack, Donahoe helped Corwin stagger back to the station.

Last night, Corwin, who had blacked out during the fight, said he hoped to return to duty soon. "It wasn't a pleasant experience," he said, "but I'm as good as could be expected."