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Wantagh hosts first firematic awards

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Wantagh Fire Department leaders hosted their first firematic awards ceremony on Nov. 7 to recognize members for their community and meritorious services.

The Wantagh Fire Department— which serves all of Wantagh, Seaford Harbor and parts of Levittown, East Meadow and Bellmore — receives more than 1,500 emergency medical service calls per year, Chief James Bloomfield noted. While members are constantly busy, he said, department leadership aims to “always find time to acknowledge members who go above and beyond to help others.”

The awards ceremony was held at department headquarters. Honors were given to both individuals and groups of volunteers. 

The first accolade leaders gave out was the Life Saving Award. EMS Captain Stephen Lincke, Ex-Captain John Licata, Lieutenant Richard Mongiello, Firefighters Nick McQuail, Tom Melendez and Tyler Adelle and Fire Medics Esther Hurley, Erica Goetz and Steve Karejwa received the honor because they revived a patient who was in cardiac arrest. 

“It feels great,” Goetz, a five-year member of the department, said. “We are always here to help residents when they are sick or in need.” Goetz also received the New York State Basic Life Support Provider of the Year Award for helping a person who had overdosed. 

Later in the night, leaders handed out unit citations to two squads for responding two large-scale fires. Ex-Chief George Krant, Captain Leonard Mathewson, Lieutenant Christopher Gross and Firefighter Edward McGuire were honored for their work aboard a boat at the scene of a brush fire, in addition to extinguishing various blazes at local homes with members of the Copiague Fire Department.

Ex-captains William Stevens and Michael Gross, as well as firefighters Eric Finklestein and Brian Gilmor, also took home a unit citation. Officials said that they not only helped extinguish a fire in Levittown, but that they also saved a pet dog from the burning home. 

“We were just lucky enough to get the dog out and give it the help it needed and make sure it had a full recovery,” Gilmor explained. “Tonight is a nice way to recognize firefighters, but in turn, we also don’t do this to be recognized.”

Gilmor also won the Out of Town Award. This honor was given to three members who “took firefighting and/or EMS actions outside the confines of the Wantagh Fire District,” according to Public Information Officer Kevin Regan. 

While working, Gilmor helped people whose house was on fire. After making sure that they were out of the house and that they called the local fire department, Gilmor used the only equipment he had available — a hard-hat — as a water bunket to extinguish the flames. 

EMS Lieutenant Amanda Fody and Fire Medic Samantha Datre also received the Out of Tow Award. Earlier this year, Fody revived a patient that was in cardiac arrest while performing clinical rotations on a Nassau County Police Department ambulance as part of her EMT training. Datre also helped a patient in the same condition while working on a North Shore University Hospital ambulance, in addition to administering Narcan; because of her actions, the patient regained a pulse and spontaneous breathing.

“We were just in the right place at the right time,” Gilmor said of all of the Out of Town Award winners. 

Just before Veterans Day, Wantagh fire leaders also recognized members who have served in the armed forces. The winners of the Veterans Service Award were: 

Ex-Chief and Commissioner Donald Snyder

Ex-Captain Bob Kurtz

Ex-Captain William Wills

Ex-Captain William MacKay

Ex-Captain William Gilmor

Ex-Captain Mike Chirillo

Ex-Captain Walter Weidtman

Ex-Captain John Kwasnik

Ex-Captain Edward Cordova

Firefighter Mike Suppes

Firefighter Walter Enfield

Firefighter Paul Raimondi

Firefighter Erik Paine

Firefighter Kevin Grant

Firefighter Brian Gilmor

Firefighter Stanley Zencheck 

Ex-Captain and EMT Lisa Lang-Gross, a 19-year member of the department, won the Harriet C. Webber EMS Leadership Award and the Wantagh Community Service Award. She served on and chaired numerous committees “due to her excellent leadership and managerial skills,” Bloomfield said. 

In addition to her involvement in Wantagh, Regan said that Gross works diligently to promote EMS in the Sixth Battalion and Nassau County Fire Commission, where she has served as a delegate and secretary. She was also the driving force behind the Wantagh Fire Department Narcan program, he added.

Ex-Captain Stephen Minogue also received the Community Service Award, in addition to the 2016 Nassau County Firematic Award. Minogue was recognized within the department and by County Executive Ed Mangano for his 40 years of service to the residents of Wantagh, Regan said, and for his work on the department’s training committee. 

Finally, Ex-Captain Steve Falk took home the Chief’s Award for spending hundreds of hours researching and providing recommendations to the chiefs’ office about the department’s vehicle extrication equipment and training, Regan said. He noted that Falk gave a nearly hour-long presentation at a Board of Fire Commissioners meeting to discuss essential equipment purchases.