Onset firefighter Marc Granato lay unconsciousness in a raging storm, both boots knocked off his feet.

Speeding away during the March 2 nor'easter was the person who struck the 25-year-old in a hit-and-run. Running toward Granato was Onset Fire Lt. Justin Harrington. He’d seen many similar crashes. They never ended well.

“I honestly thought he was dead,” said Harrington.

Granato survived. However, his right leg was shattered.

Using crutches and wearing a brace, he climbed to the second floor of the Onset Fire Department Tuesday afternoon. There, lunch and a reunion with Harrington and Granato’s other brothers and sisters in the fire service were waiting. It was the first time many saw Granato since the crash, which left him with a titanium rod in his leg. The mood was joyful, in contrast from the days following Granato’s accident.

“I have never been so viscerally afraid in my entire adult life,” said Onset Fire Chief Ray Goodwin. “I didn’t sleep for two days.”

A suspect, Paul J. Durgin, 28, of Sandwich, was arrested and now faces a slew of charges related to the crash. A grand jury is currently weighing an indictment.

Granato, a Massachusetts Maritime Academy student and Upton resident, was working during the storm, placing caution cones near the now-demolished Continental Marina. Fifty mile-per-hour winds were blowing sheet-metal siding off a boat storage warehouse, a situation Goodwin described as “guillotines flying across the road.” The last thing Granato remembers from that night was driving by the marina to another call.

“We went by and the building was in a bad way,” he recalled. “I thought to myself, ‘We’ll be heading back there.’ Little did I know…”

Harrington, a nine-year veteran of the department, was commanding officer at the scene. He heard a car horn, turned, and saw Granato injured. Harrington checked for vital signs and found a pulse, but Granato had momentarily stopped breathing. Eventually, his eyes opened.

“I said, ‘Can you see me?’” said Harrington. “He started blinking as if to say, ‘Yeah, what’s going on?’”

Granato was taken to Rhode Island Hospital where he underwent extensive surgery. He’s expected to make a full recovery this summer.

“It’s going all right so far,” said Granato. “Slower than I’d like, but faster than most people were expecting.”

He hopes to be walking in time for his graduation this June. He’ll be wearing his Onset Fire Department uniform. Granato's special request received approval from Rear Admiral Francis McDonald, the school's president, during a hospital visit. Usually, only active military members are afforded the honor of wearing something other than the school’s uniform at graduation.

Granato joined the Onset Fire Department three years ago as an intern. He was part of a pilot program launched by the academy to give students real world experience in emergency management. His future plans include becoming a full-time firefighter and one day working for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“This accident has definitely delayed that,” he said.

Granato’s wry, quiet sense of humor is something firefighters drew out of him, Goodwin said.

“Being here is kind of like being forced to communicate with your siblings,” said Goodwin. “You’re going to be part of the conversation – whether you want to be or not.”

Firefighters joked and relaxed over lunch, visiting with Granato and glad to have him back for the afternoon. But that doesn’t mean they went easy on him.

“We left plenty of dishes in the sink for you, dude,” Harrington joked.