Brothers and Sisters,

Last night I informed the Executive Board that I am resigning as President of Local 718 effective on October 1, 2010.

This was not a decision I took lightly but one needs to know when it is time to go. I am looking forward to spending time with my family and getting back to working my shifts on Tower Ladder 17. I will also continue to fight for our benefits at the state level with the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts.

Having a good team in place to run Local 718 has made this decision a little easier to make. Richie and the Executive Board have my full support and I hope yours to deal with the challenges ahead.

It has been an honor to serve as President of Local 718 these past five years. Even during the most difficult times, I was proud to be your President. Our battle to ensure that our families were treated fairly at the bargaining table was historic. We proved that as a strong Union, our voices will be heard.

When one runs for office and gets elected and re-elected by the people they work with, it is humbling but also a great feeling. Believe me when I tell you I tried to never forget where I came from, who put me in office and what my responsibilities to you and your families were. You may not have always agreed with me but I hope you understood that ours is a noble profession worth fighting for.

Thank you…and see you at the big one.

Edward Kelly

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Jakes save Hub jumper, Rescued on the edge

In a scene right out of a Hollywood action flick, a Boston firefighter hooked into a harness, rappelled off the roof of a Commonwealth Avenue building and swung into a sixth-floor window to rescue an apparently suicidal woman wielding a scalpel.

The drama unfolded at about 9 p.m. Monday when the 24-year-old woman threatened to jump while hanging off scaffolding near Boston College. Firefighters from Engine 3 “bounced” an SUV out of the way by hand and inflated a massive air bag in case the woman jumped.

Meanwhile, the crew from Rescue 1, led by Lt. Sandy Lasa and Chief Ronald Marston, set up on the roof. Working in darkness, the firefighters secured ropes to a stairwell railing and a chimney and tied the other ends to a harness worn by eight-year veteran Phil Cetrino.

 Boston police negotiators tried to keep the woman calm while guiding her into a safe spot where Cetrino could swoop in and save her - a death-defying move called a “pick-off.” Chief Joe Finn stood below on the street alongside a priest, who prayed the rosary in hopes of a safe outcome.

Lasa described the tense moments before sending Cetrino off the roof: We were listening to the radio and looking over the edge. We were keeping an eye on her. She was moving back and forth along the windows. We just waited for the opportunity. We wanted her as close to the window as possible.

“We had one shot to get Phil over the side. As he went over, he landed in a perfect spot. He was right there at the ledge.”

Surrounded by the jakes who held his lifeline during the dangerous rescue, Cetrino, 39, told the Herald his harrowing tale yesterday at the Purchase Street fire headquarters, saying his training kicked in.

“I just transferred here in October and since then, we’ve been doing a lot of training on this kind of stuff,” he said. “Being hooked up into the harness was the easy part. I had total confidence that these guys had everything tied up right. They had it perfectly set up.

“I just waited for the word. They had the rope tied off and when they said to go, I went over,” he said.

“She was standing on a desk chair and hanging onto the cord for the blinds. She had her back toward me and I came in and just blocked her from going out the window and harming herself. I just whacked her and got her horizontal and let the police know I was in.

“I just knocked her down. She was very surprised. She had a scalpel in her hand and she started to scratch herself with it. She had some superficial wounds. I just wanted to make sure she didn’t go out that window. The police were right in there quickly and restrained her and took her into custody.

“I was nervous, but I was confident because of all the training. I was relieved that everything went well. Better than well. I’d say perfect, actually.”