The FDNY Foundation Congratulates FDNY Members Honored at Annual Medal Day Ceremony

On Wednesday, April 14, Mayor Bill de Blasio and FDNY Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro presided over the annual FDNY Medal Day Ceremony at Pier 17 in Manhattan.

“Our annual Medal Day is a moment of recognition for all this Department does to save the lives of New Yorkers from perilous conditions. There’s nothing quite like the love, appreciation, and camaraderie on display each year at Medal Day, and to those watching this event, the families and friends of our honorees, and to your fellow FDNY members watching from work or home, know that you are all terribly missed today. Now this medal day is certainly unique, we’re on a rooftop, not the steps of City Hall, it’s been delayed nearly a year, and it’s taking place during a pandemic that has taxed every member of our Department. We have lost 14 people to this terrible virus. Our families have suffered. There has been loss among your family and friends. There’s been isolation and difficulty for everyone. You have felt it, and your children and families have felt it. Still, you soldier on. You push forward. You train, you work hard, you show up, and you fight to accomplish this Department’s lifesaving mission. And you have done it all during this year when COVID-19 has been all consuming, and at the forefront of your mind on every call. That is the mark of the FDNY, always going above and beyond to save lives. All our honorees displayed true bravery when they were called to act. They represented the greatest traditions of our beloved Department. Thank you all for ensuring that the FDNY continues to be the best that it can be, the greatest Fire Department in the world,” said Commissioner Nigro.

The event honored 46 FDNY Firefighters, Paramedics, EMTs, Fire Marshals and Officers for their life-saving work in 2019.

The FDNY Foundation would like to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to all of the brave men and women of the FDNY and to those who were honored at the Medal Day Ceremony.

Some of this year’s medal recipients included:

Firefighter John H. McCoy of Squad Company 288 was the inaugural recipient of the Chief of Department Peter J. Ganci, Jr. Medal. Firefighter McCoy rescued a man trapped by fire in a warehouse and removed him to safety just as the building became fully engulfed and the open bay door collapsed.

Paramedics Niall C. O’Shaughnessy and Joshua S. Rodriguez of Station 4 received The Christopher J. Prescott Medal. Paramedics O’Shaughnessy and Rodriguez extricated an injured worker from a scaffold collapse and provided pre-hospital care to three other injured workers at the Manhattan high-rise construction site.

Firefighter Daniel R. Foley of Rescue Company 3 was posthumously awarded the Emerald Society Medal. Firefighter Foley rescued two girls from a fire in the Bronx in February 2019. Just one year later, he lost his life due to World Trade Center-related cancer. His brother, Tommy, was killed on September 11, 2001.

Engine 248 was awarded the Lt. James Curran/New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation Medal. As a result of their outstanding combined effort, aggressive search, challenging 16-length hose stretch and timely pre-hospital medical care, Lieutenant Anthony R. Holz and Firefighters Darnell A. Arroya, Timothy E. Coffey, Jr., Conor J. Monaghan, Thomas M. Olsen and Ryan T. Sheehan were able to save three civilian lives during a top-floor apartment fire in Brooklyn.

Paramedics Sylvia M. Martinez and Kimberly L. Verspoor of Station 50 U1 were the recipients of the Tracy Allen-Lee Medal. Paramedics Martinez and Verspoor were assigned in the middle of the night to a Queens multiple dwelling for a patient reporting chest pains and difficulty breathing. Upon encountering an initial victim on the second floor, their CO meters activated with an indication of potentially lethal levels of the odorless gas. They triaged the patient and, after receiving assistance from another unit, proceeded to the third floor to treat another victim–this time in a more hazardous atmosphere with even higher levels of carbon monoxide. Operating together, they removed the victim from a clutter-filled apartment to a safer location on a lower floor and provided urgent medical treatment.

Once again, the FDNY Foundation thanks and congratulates the 2020 Medal Day recipients. Thank you for your service, sacrifice and dedication to the people and City of New York.

To view the full ceremony, please visit: bit.ly/2020FDNYMedalDay

To view more photos from the ceremony, please visit: http://bit.ly/3mOH5II

To download the 2020 FDNY Medal Day book, please visit: on.nyc.gov/3e4rtN0