The Methuen Exchange Club honored three members of the Methuen Fire Department as Firefighters of the Year, and from the Methuen Police Department one police officer as Police Officer of the Year, at their annual awards ceremony held at the Irish Cottage.

Fire Chief David Toto and members of the Fire Department nominated three firefighters for their bravery during an Aug. 8 structure fire on North Street. They are Lts. Ryan Sullivan and Matt Collier and Firefighter Bihn Le. While crews fought that morning blaze, there was a mayday call – used when a firefighter is lost, trapped or in imminent danger.

“Our Engine 6 crew was attacking the fire and, while moving forward, the floor weakened resulting in one of our firefighters falling through a hole that developed into the basement up to his shoulders,” Toto explained. “The quick actions of these three honorees to that mayday call were remarkable. They remained calm under difficult circumstances and took immediate steps to mitigate the situation and rescue a brother.
“Lieutenant Sullivan gained control of the unmanned hose line nozzle that was dropped by the firefighter who fell through the hole. He then sprayed down the firefighter with water to cool him down and keep him safe,” Toto explained. “Several attempts to pull the firefighter up from the floor were implemented. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Collier and Firefighter Le, our ladder crew, circled around to find a basement door. They entered the hostile conditions, located the firefighter and pulled him to safety.”

Toto proudly said, “The correct, quick and confident actions of these three members of our department took a dire situation and turned it into a rescue. If not for their training and the proper implementation of that training, the situation could have been much worse. I am so proud of all three of these colleagues for their courage and quick thinking …”

Methuen Police Chief Scott McNamara spoke next for MPD’s honoree, Detective Tracey Noonan, “who has led one of the most complex and most impactful investigations in our department’s history,” he said, of her years-long work.

“When Lieutenant Joseph Rynne and Sergeant Nick Conway submitted Tracey’s nomination, they didn’t just list her accomplishments, they told a story – a story of relentless determination, quiet courage and a level of compassion that changes lives,” McNamara said. “She took on a network of illicit massage parlors operating right here in our city. Businesses that were exploiting some of the most vulnerable people imaginable through human trafficking and sexual servitude. This was not a single operation or a quick case. It was years of painstaking work cultivating sources, coordinating multi-agency operations, conducting countless hours of surveillance, interviewing victims with extraordinary care and managing an avalanche of evidence.”

As a result of this dogged work, nine establishments were shut down.

“What makes this more remarkable is how she did it; every victim she encountered was treated not as a case number, but as a human being deserving of dignity, safety and a path forward,” McNamara continued. “Tracey connected them with services, followed up long after the reports were filed and gave them hope when they had every reason to believe hope was gone.”

He added, “Tracey did all of this while fighting a very private and very personal battle against breast cancer, which she only recently chose to disclose. Not once did she ask for special treatment or did she let her own pain slow her down. She showed up for her cases, her victims and her colleagues with the same steady resolve and quiet strength that has become her trademark.”

Detective Noonon briefly spoke, thanking the Methuen Exchange Club for this honor. She explained that when McNamara first became chief, he rode with officers during various shifts and asked about areas of concern.

“I drove him to two spas on Baldwin Street directly across from the ‘five-star luxury resort’ at the Days Inn. I told him what I believed was happening and other similar spots in the city,” she explained. “I was then brought into the Criminal Investigation Division under Lieutenant Joe Rynne. My first assignment was to tackle the growing number of illegitimate massage parlors. The success of this case was truly a collective effort of the Methuen Police Department as a whole. I want to thank my partners and co-workers within this unit.”

Congratulations to Detective Noonan, Lieutenants Sullivan and Collier, and Firefighter Le.