AUGUSTA — The Maine Senate enacted Wednesday a bill from Sen. Chip Curry, D-Belfast, that honors a firefighter from Unity. LD 1839, “Resolve, To Name a Bridge in the Town of Unity the Alton ‘Mac’ McCormick Memorial Bridge,” received unanimous, bipartisan support.

“Mr. McCormick is a local hero and undeniably deserves this recognition,” said Sen. Curry. “It has been my honor to get this bill passed, and I thank my colleagues in the Senate for their support. Hearing from residents of Unity about how important this is to the community is so touching. Our frontline heroes like Mr. McCormick show us what bravery and service are and it means so much to me to be able to honor him.”

Alton McCormick was the Assistant Fire Chief in Unity in the fall of 1954 during Hurricane Carol and Hurricane Edna. Maine was battered by these storms, and floodwaters trapped dozens of families. In Unity, a family of 10 was trapped on top of a car, and neighbors built a human chain to try to rescue them. Nine family members survived, but unfortunately one of the children and Mr. McCormick lost their lives in the flood. In the aftermath, Alton McCormick was posthumously awarded the first-ever Civilian Citation for Bravery by then-Gov. Burton Cross.

LD 1839 would rename Bridge 5228 as the Alton “Mac” McCormick Memorial Bridge. This bridge carries U.S. Route 202 and State Route 9 over the Sandy Stream in Unity.

LD 1839 now goes to Gov. Janet Mills, who has 10 days to either sign the bill, veto it or allow it to become law without her signature.