A big turnout of Buxton firefighters and friends welcomed Staff Sgt. Jamie Grant home on Wednesday following a deployment with Maine’s 133rd Engineer Battalion to Afghanistan.

“He’s a hero,” Maj. Michael Steinbuchel, spokesman for the Maine Army National Guard, said, “and we’re glad he’s home.”

“This was a surprise,” Grant said at a gathering at Bonny Eagle Middle School.

Grant is a member of the fire department.

Returning home to Buxton from a tour in Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Jamie Grant of Maine’s 133rd Engineer Battalion is embraced by his twin brother, Jason Grant, on Wednesday at Bonny Eagle Middle School.