FARMINGTON – A gofundme page has been established for Larry Lord, the maintenance manager of the LEAP Inc. building who has been called a hero for his actions Monday morning.
The explosion that destroyed the newly-expanded office building for LEAP – Life Enrichment Advancing People, an organization that supports adults with developmental, cognitive and intellectual disabilities – killed one firefighter, Capt. Michael Bell, 68, and injured several others. Also among the injured was Lord, without whom officials say the incident could have been even more catastrophic.
“First, and in no uncertain terms, Larry Lord is a hero,” Farmington selectman and state Rep. Scott Landry said in a written statement Tuesday. “His leadership in evacuating the building saved many lives. We are all so grateful to him.”
Lord got the roughly dozen employees in the building to safety, Police Chief Jack Peck said at Tuesday’s press conference.
“Without his quick actions, I think it would have been a much more horrific tragedy,” Peck said.
Within minutes after firefighters arrived to investigate a report about the smell of gas in the building, it exploded. Lord was injured in the blast; according to the fundraising page, he sustained burns, broken bones and other injuries. He was transported to Franklin Memorial Hospital and then to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where his condition was most recently listed as critical.
According to the fundraising page, Lord is expected to be in the hospital for months. The gofundme account was established to support Lord and his family. It can be found here. As of mid-afternoon Wednesday, more than $71,000 had been donated by more than 1,000 donors.
I don’t use PayPal. Is there an address I can mail a check to?
Eileen Liddy
Eileen Liddy- an account has been opened at Franklin Savings bank. Donations can also be dropped off there for the Larry Lord Fund
Larry: You are a hero….My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family as you recover. I am so thankful you got my cousin and all other employees out of the building. You saved their lives.
I think we all have had the “what if” thoughts, but not many people outside of the office know that Larry’s normal schedule would not have included what he was doing at our Central Office location on Monday. Had events that led up to the reason he and Justin were there in the first place never happened I truly believe myself and at least 12 others would have died as none of us would have had any reason to go into the basement. No one except Larry and Justin smelled the gas and I praise God that Larry’s first thought was for the safety of his co-workers. But if you know Larry like we know him, then you would not be surprised of his sacrificial ways. That was one of his biggest gifts — the amazing way he put others before himself without anything expected in return. We miss his smiling face and cheerful words and playfulness. LEAP will not be complete until he is home and back with us. Prayers continue for our dear friend.
All of us at Hammond Lumber have had Larry in our thoughts and prayers ever since this terrible accident happened. None of us were surprised to hear what he did for his coworkers, he is deeply missed by all of us. Larry Mandy and Justin made our day, things will not be the same until he is home. Much love Larry from all your friends at Hammond Lumber.