For Immediate Release

Monday, March 28, 2016

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

Groveland Firefighter Chris Adams Returns from Army Deployment in Afghanistan to the Surprise of His Loved Ones

GROVELAND – The call was for a gas leak. Police cars arrived first, blue lights blaring. They were followed by all of the fire trucks in the Groveland fleet, red lights active and sirens sounding. It had all the makings of a real emergency with one exception: There was no emergency at all.

The ruse was designed to get Denise Levesque McCoy and Carolyn Babeu out of Denise’s house on Cranton Avenue shortly before 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 26. As they emerged to greet the firefighters, who were in full gear, a person emerged from behind the fire truck wearing a different uniform — an army uniform.

Army Specialist Chris Adams, who turned 22 on Sunday, came home a month early after a 10-month deployment to Afghanistan with the United States Army, where he served as a combat medic with the 946th Forward Surgical Team. As he walked out from behind the fire truck, Denise, his mother, fell to her knees with joy before Chris rushed to embrace her.

Carolyn, his girlfriend of two years, was next to share an embrace.

Chris, a paramedic, Groveland resident, and member of the Groveland Fire Department, worked with Groveland Firefighter Taylor Balletto, Fire Lt. Daniel Briscoe, and Fire Chief Robert Lay to pull off the surprise homecoming.

“We wanted to make this something special that no one would forget, so we had Carolyn go to Denise’s house under the guise that they would Skype with Chris before he had to go back into the field for a few weeks. This way, they would both be in the same place at the same time,” Firefighter Balletto said. “Then it was just a matter of making a grand arrival.”

“I am so proud that we could welcome Chris back to Groveland with the fanfare he deserves, and the entire community owes him a debt of gratitude,” Chief Lay said.

The planning was done carefully to protect the surprise factor, and despite weeks of planning, the firefighters had only a few days to rally the rest of the department for the event. They even gathered members of the Groveland Police Department to be a part of the celebration. It worked perfectly, with Denise and Carolyn caught completely off guard.

“I truly felt like a little kid at Christmas,” said Lt. Briscoe. “I am so happy that we could pull off the surprise, but most of all I’m happy that Chris is home safe.”

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