On Monday, Nov. 7, the Wantagh Fire Department held it’s first annual Awards Night at the Department Meeting. Members were recognized for Firematic and EMS meritorious service as well as community service during the past year.
The following is a list of awards:
Life Saving: for their actions at the scene of an aided case where they revived a patient who had suffered cardiac arrest.
EMS Capt. Stephen Lincke
Ex-Captain John Licata
Lieut. Richard Mongiello
Firefighters Nick McQuail, Tom Melendez and Tyler Adelle
Fire medics Esther Hurley, Erica Goetz and Steve Karejwa
Unit Citation: for their operation aboard Marine One at the scene of a massive brush fire,
along multiple working house fires at a Mutual Aid to Copiague FD.
Ex-Chief George Krant
Captain Leonard Mathewson
Lieut. Christopher Gross
Firefighter Edward McGuire
Unit Citation: for working as a team at the scene of a working house fire, under extreme
conditions, the following members were able to locate and remove the family’s dog who would have most likely perished had they not been able to in a timely fashion.
Ex-Captains William Stevens and Michael Gross
Firefighters Eric Finklestein and Brian Gilmor
“Out of Town” Awards: for Fire/EMS actions taken outside the confines of the Wantagh Fire District:
EMS Lieut. Amanda Fody – Lieut. Fody, while performing clinical rotations on a NCPD Ambulance as part of her EMT/CC training, performed at a level exceeding expectations and was responsible for reviving a patient in Cardiac Arrest.
Firefighter Brian Gilmor – while working, firefighter Gilmor heard calls for help nearby. Upon investigation, he found that a house was on fire. After ensuring that the occupants were out of the house and that the local FD had been notified, firefighter Gilmor used the only equipment he had available, his hard-hat, to extinguish the fire by repeatedly dump water on the flames until they were extinguished.
Fire medic Samantha Datre – while performing Paramedic clinical rotations aboard a North Shore University Hospital Ambulance worked as part of a team to revive a patient in Cardiac Arrest, as well as administer “Narcan,” resulting in the patient regaining a pulse and spontaneous breathing.
Veterans Service Awards – for their service in various branches of the Armed Forces of the United States, the following members were awarded a Veteran’s Award:
Ex-Chief/Commisioner Donald Snyder
Ex- Captains Bob Kurtz, William Wills, William MacKay, William Gilmor, Mike
Chirillo, Walter Weidtman, John Kwasnik, Edward Cordova
Firefighters Mike Suppes, Walter Enfield, Paul Raimondi, Erik Paine, Kevin Grant, Brian Gilmor, Stanley Zencheck.
NYS EMS Council Awards:
NYS BLS Provider of the Year – Fire medic/EMT Erica Goetz – EMT Goetz, while performing her duties as an on duty medic in the WFD “medic car,” responded to the scene of an unconscious patient who had overdosed. A rapid assessment of the patient revealed that the patient was not breathing.
EMT Goetz began to ventilate the patient and then administered Narcan, resulting in the patient’s mental and breathing status improving. The patient was then transported in stable condition to the hospital. For her actions at this alarm, Fire medic/EMT Goetz was awarded the NYS BLS Provider of the Year Award as well as the Wantagh FD Community Service Award.
NYS Harriet C. Weber EMS Leadership Award – Ex-Captain/EMT-CC Lisa Lang-Gross has been a dedicated member of the Wantagh FD for 19 years. During her service she has served on and chaired numerous committees, due to her commitment and excellent leadership and managerial skills including EMS QA/QI, EMS Training and EMS CME. In addition to her involvement with the Wantagh FD, Ex-Captain Gross works diligently to promote EMS in the Sixth Battalion and Nassau County Fire Commission where she has served as delegate and currently serves as secretary. Ex-Captain Gross was the driving force behind the Wantagh FD Narcan program as well as its implementation in other Departments in the 6th Battalion. She currently heads the spinal restriction program. For her continued dedication to the ensuring the highest levels of EMS care, Ex-Captain Lisa Lang-Gross has been awarded the Harriet C. Webber EMS Leadership Award and the Wantagh FD Community Service Award.
NYS EMS Agency of the Year– Wantagh FD EMS Squads responded to over 1,530 EMS alarms in 2015, which is a 7% increase over the prior year. Over the course of those alarms, ambulances were staffed 77% of the time with Advanced Life Support (ALS) Providers and 23% with Basic Life Support (BLS.) Some notable achievements/milestones that were met in 2015 include the establishment of an effective Quality Assurance program and the completion of the NYS Department of Health Spinal Restriction Protocol Update. The Wantagh FD also became the first FD in Nassau County to be certified in the use of Nassau County Haz-Mat ALS protocols. Continuous training and acquisition of the most up-to-date equipment allow the Wantagh FD EMS providers to continue to better serve the residents of the Wantagh Fire District. The Chiefs and EMS Captain Lincke proudly accepted the NYS EMS Agency of the Year Award on behalf of all Wantagh FD EMS providers.
Wantagh FD Community Service Awards:
Ex-Captain Stephen Minogue was awarded the 2016 Nassau County Firematic Award at a ceremony earlier this year. It was presented by County Executive Mangano and Fire Marshall Tusa in recognition of Ex-Captain Minogue’s 40 years of service to the residents of Wantagh and for his many dedicated years of service to the Department’s Training Committee. Ex-Captain Minogue was also awarded the Wantagh FD Community Service Award.
Wantagh FD Chief’s Award:
Ex-Captain Steve Falk was awarded a Community Service Award for spending hundreds of hours researching and providing recommendations to the Chief’s office regarding the Department’s vehicle extrication equipment and training. New vehicle construction, engineering, passenger restraint systems and airbag systems have necessitated changes in strategies and tactics. Ex-Captain Falk compiled all of this research, along with his knowledge and experience, and gave a nearly hour-long presentation at a Board of Fire Commissioners Meeting for their consideration for the future purchases of equipment. Ex-Captain Falk has continuously provided Department Members with the latest information and training pertaining to Vehicle Extrication and for that he was awarded a Wantagh FD Chief’s Award.
