MORRISVILLE – Nick Leblanc, a Morrisville Water and Light Department line foreman has become the first recipient of a Hero Award created by the village trustees to recognize extraordinary acts of courage. LeBlanc responded to the scene of a Wolcott crash and subsequent fire, pulling the car’s driver from a car that crashed into a burning barn on his way home from a power restoration call in the early hours before dawn on May 17.
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LeBlanc reacted quickly; hearing the driver’s voice, he broke the rear window and working with two other passersby extracted the driver, continually moved him away from the heat of the fire as it grew to engulf the whole barn, called 911 and stayed on the scene until the driver was safely on his way to receive medical attention.
In giving LeBlanc the award, village trustees recognized his heroism in “putting himself at risk to pull another to safety. His bravery exemplifies the true spirit of service and selflessness.”
Bruce Fortmann, who arrived at the scene on his way home to Hardwick from a day in the Burlington area said LeBlanc had reacted decisively to smash the rear window of the small silver car with a cinder block,
In a social media post, the Hardwick Fire Department said, “Awesome job Nick! One very lucky individual to have someone willing to take those chances for someone they didn’t even know; [a] true hero!”
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
