PORTSMOUTH — Lt. Dennis “D.J.” Canario knew the volunteers from Lawrence Air Systems would be arriving Saturday to replace his failing furnace. 

What he didn’t expect — what he still can’t quite explain — was the phone call weeks earlier telling him he had been chosen for the company’s annual First Responder Appreciation giveaway. It came at the exact moment he was privately questioning whether he could continue in the fire service at all.

The Portsmouth firefighter, his wife Tori and their seven children welcomed nearly 20 volunteers from the Seekonk-based company who came with a brand-new furnace, hot-water heater, and cooling system — equipment worth more than $20,000, all free, and all installed in a single day.

For Lawrence Air Systems, it was the fifth year of its First Responder Appreciation program, an annual community-nominated giveaway. 

But for Canario, the timing of the call telling him he’d been selected struck far deeper than a home upgrade. It arrived at a moment when he was quietly wrestling with a personal crisis that had left him questioning his future in the fire service.

Lawrence Air Systems owner Aaron Lawrence said the program grew naturally out of his family’s connection to first responders. His son Nick is a firefighter in North Smithfield, and the company frequently works with police officers, firefighters, and EMTs.

“When he decided to become a firefighter, his mom and I knew he was going to be giving something that a whole lot of people appreciate,” Lawrence said. “Over time we saw what first responders go through and wanted to show some level of appreciation. We put out a call to our clients: ‘Nominate someone who’s stood out.’ And we’ve met some incredible people.”

Past recipients have included a Barrington firefighter who was nominated by a woman whose ailing husband he cared for repeatedly. But this year’s selection came with a story Lawrence and his staff didn’t know until after they arrived at the Canario home.

‘Something was off’

Behind the scenes, Canario had been struggling for months.

“Back in July I was called into the office by the assistant chief, and we had a long conversation about how he could see something was off,” he said. A few weeks later, the chief echoed those concerns, speaking with him not only about career advancement but about noticeable changes in his demeanor.

Still, Canario brushed it off.

“I arrogantly shrugged those warning signs away,” he said.

On calls, his captain would pull him aside and ask a simple but pointed question: “What’s up? Are you good?”

Again, he insisted he was fine — even when he wasn’t.

A particularly difficult call in early October forced the truth to the surface.

“That call became my breaking point,” he said. He was sent home afterward, where he met with department support resources. “It’s the first time in my life that I had to put myself first and focus on taking care of myself.”

The experience shook him enough that, for the first time, Canario wasn’t sure whether he still belonged in the job he loved. He spent long nights praying, searching for clarity. One morning, after asking Tori to join him at the chapel, he prayed: “God, please send me a sign that’s loud and clear that my current path is exactly where you want me to be.”

A fortuitous phone call

That same day, his phone rang with a number he didn’t recognize. Distracted, he ignored it.

The next morning, an email reminder jogged his memory. When he finally returned the call, Aaron Lawrence was on the other end, telling him he had been nominated anonymously and selected as this year’s First Responder Appreciation recipient.

“Man, was that a loud and clear sign,” Canario said. “I have an angel out there who nominated me for this award that they had no idea I needed at that exact time.”

When volunteers arrived Saturday morning, their original plan was to replace the family’s aging furnace. Once they dismantled the old system, however, they noticed the water heater next to it was failing and beginning to leak.

Lawrence immediately made a call to Seekonk Supply. The owner happened to be working that Saturday and donated the new water heater on the spot.

In addition to the furnace and water heater, the team installed a single-zone cooling system worth roughly $10,000 to $12,000. Combined with the furnace and water heater, Lawrence estimated the value of the installation between $20,000 and $25,000 — all of it provided at no cost.

All volunteers

“Everybody here, all of our team, they’re all volunteering. There are 19 of them today,” Lawrence said. “It creates such inspiring feedback from the community. And for the recipient, it’s not just the new system — it’s the fact that people have noticed them.”

For D.J. and Tori, who are raising seven children — Adannis, 18, Alainna, 16, Michael, 14, Riley, 13, Alyia, 12, Hannah, 9, and Daniel, 6 — the gift was enormous. On a firefighter’s salary, the repairs would have taken “five, 10 years” to save for. But what struck him wasn’t the money.

“Aaron and his team had no idea God was working through them,” he said. “They gave me the clarity I needed.”

Giving back

Despite the drizzle and cold, volunteers worked steadily throughout the day. Among them was Christina Pirri, a Bristol resident who’s worked for the company a little over four years. Pirri said she couldn’t think of doing anything better on a Saturday.

“We’re giving back to someone that donates so much of his time and energy and passion into this community, so it’s nice to find individuals who contribute something back to him,” said Pirri.

Pirri is married to a first responder herself — Officer Maddie Pirri, a sergeant in the Portsmouth Police Department — so she knows all about the sacrifices police officers and firefighters make for their communities. 

She’s also well-acquainted with the Canarios. “They do wonderful things. They are a staple in this community, for sure,” she said.