‘Full honorary member’: Man with Down syndrome spent finals days with Pittsburgh firefighters

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Firefighters answered a call on Dec. 12 that took them to meet a dying man.

“I was working overtime shift here in 4 Engine in Uptown,” said Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire Lieutenant Matthew Novotny.

The call took Novotny around the corner to Mercy Hospital. Not to a fire, but to the intensive care unit to meet Dominic Petho who was dying.

“It’s part of this job,” said Novotny. “We have to remember that we may not be sports stars but to a lot of kids we are heroes.”

Petho has always been a kid at heart. He was born with Down syndrome. He grew up in Hazelwood, right across the street from 13 Engine.

“He used to sneak over every day and visit with the guys at 13 Engine in the 80s and 90s and hang out with them,” said Novotny. “And they actually got him his first turnout gear back then.”

Thirteen Engine just so happens to be Novotny’s station.

“So it was kind of just fate that I was working overtime down here,” said Novotny. “Ended up visiting with him and all of this springboarded from that.”

Every day for about six days, a firefighter spent an hour, sometimes two, by Dominic’s side until he died on Sunday, Dec. 17.

“He was relatively nonverbal by that point, but he was still smiling and laughing, especially when we were flashing the lights and hitting the siren,” Novotny said.

While Petho couldn’t say thank you or fully express what this meant to him, Novotny knew.

“We knew that the fire department and being a firefighter was all that he ever wanted,” Novotny said.

And all that he ever wanted will be with him forever.

“We were able to just give him his own coat and news from his sister is that the coat will go with him for eternity,” said Novotny. “So, he’ll be buried with the coat that we gifted him. We also gave him a uniform shirt from down here in Uptown. He’ll be buried in his uniform shirt. A full honorary member of 13 Engine.”

Petho’s family says he will be buried wearing that coat, which reached its lifespan and was going to be destroyed.

Novotny is the last bagpiper for the fire bureau. He’ll be playing the pipes at Petho’s viewing at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 21, and is encouraging firefighters in the area to show up for Dominic and his family.

“I’ll be playing the pipes for him one last time,” said Novotny.

His funeral is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 22 at George Irvin Green Funeral Home in Munhall.

Novotny shared this list with Channel 11 of the names of the men from the Bureau who were involved in this:

• Assistant Chief Kokkila
• Assistant Chief Davis
• Deputy Chief Scherer
• Lieutenant Novotny
• Master Firefighter Thomas
• Firefighter Dice
• Firefighter Koziell
• Firefighter Fisher

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