The details of Firefighter Third Class Robert Thurber’s receipt of recognition at last night’s Tiverton town council meeting prove me to have understated Mr. Thurber’s merit:

Firefighter Third Class Robert Thurber III was awarded a Medal of Valor, second class, by Fire Chief Robert Lloyd for his attempt to save two people from a car that was in 12 feet of water after it had gone off a pier in Plymouth, Mass., on Sept. 27. Thurber was on a day off and visiting Plymouth with his girlfriend when he noticed a number of police cars racing to a pier. He followed to see if he could help and ended up diving numerous times into murky water to try to locate a car that contained two people, ages 25 and 27. He finally did locate the car, but was unable to open the door. A diving team arrived about eight minutes later. The two victims were removed from the car and taken to the hospital, but they both succumbed to their injuries, Lloyd said.