St. Pete Fire Rescue firefighter Jim Cunningham was with his 13-year-old daughter near the finish line waiting for his wife to complete the Boston Marathon when the first bomb went off.
He gave his daughter his cell phone, quickly put her in the front door of a nearby hotel and went to help. That’s when the second bomb went off. He was only 10 to 15 yards away from that one.
He said he walked right into the carnage, started putting pressure on wounds, and helping patients into ambulances, trying to save lives.
“I was telling the civilians what to do,” he said. “Putting their hands where they need to be. Press here, don’t stop until someone relieves you who has a uniform on.”
Cunningham’s wife was somewhere in the middle of mile 25 of the 26 mile marathon.
“I said you’re not going to finish the race, there’s no finish line," he said. "They’re gonna stop you and redirect you. Just go with what they saw and I’ll find you."
After an unbelievable hour and a half, the family reunited. Cunningham said he kept looking back to make sure his 13-year-old daughter was okay. He said he never thought about not helping. He said he’s just one of those guys who runs in instead of out. But don’t call him a hero. He said he was just doing what he was supposed to.