Honors for rescuers in Mattapan fire

(Jodi Hilton for The Boston Globe)

Al Pierre, who rescued several people from the fire, chats with Mayor Menino after the ceremony.

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

Lodia Lombard, a 23-year-old Haitian immigrant who survived a three-alarm fire at her Mattapan apartment Monday, finally got to thank the man who carried her on his back and guided her to safety.

Lombard rushed Al Pierre, a 34-year-old construction worker, and hugged him tightly this afternoon, following a mayoral ceremony honoring those who helped rescue people from the Blue Hill Avenue triple-decker that was gutted in the fast-moving fire.

Several other residents of the apartment, including a pair of dialysis patients and a 13-year-old boy who lived on the first floor, crammed for the ceremony into a small room in the city-owned Parkman House on Beacon Hill.

They watched as Mayor Thomas M. Menino read proclamations thanking firefighters and a police officer for their service.

"As mayor, I'm very proud of the work they did," Menino said of the city employees. He also paid tribute to Pierre and a painting crew who left their lunch and brought their ladders to the scene to help second-floor tenants climb down.

Pierre, who was passing by the scene, scaled a post and stood on the second-floor balcony. From there, he caught a 1-year-old baby that a mother dropped to him from the third floor, before guiding her down.

He then stopped Lombard from jumping from the third floor. He coaxed her to step over the balcony, helping her down, too.

The construction worker, who will also be honored at a Celtics game this week, said he'll be happy when all the attention fades away."I just want this to go away, so I can get my life back," he said.

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