There are also two Sardinian officers among the policemen awarded this morning during the ceremony for the 172nd anniversary of the Foundation of the State Police which was held in Piazza del Popolo in Rome . They are deputy superintendent Marco Marras , 42 years old, and deputy inspector Loris Tola , 35. The two, serving at the Flying Squad of the Cagliari Police Headquarters, had foiled an arson attack on 24 September 2021 against a commercial business in Assemini .
In the action Marco Marras was seriously burned in an attempt to stop a Romanian citizen who was threatening to set himself on fire in front of a bar with a tank of petrol. Suddenly a spark had triggered a blaze that had hit Marras and the author of the crazy gesture . Only the quick reflexes of his colleague Loris Tola who intervened with the fire extinguisher supplied with the police cars had saved his life . However, there was nothing to be done for the Romanian citizen, who died in hospital after a few days.
Marco Marras, who was immediately rescued, was urgently transported to the Burns Center in Sassari where he had to spend a long hospital stay before being able to return to his home in Dolianova.
This morning, the deputy superintendent received the gold medal for civil valor from the president of the Chamber of Deputies. Bronze medal for colleague Loris Tola.