***MEDIA ADVISORY***

FIRE COMMISSIONER CASSANO TO PRESIDE AT GRADUATION CEREMONY FOR 8 PARAMEDICS AND 147 EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS

Fire Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano will preside over a graduation ceremony for 8 Paramedics and 147 Emergency Medical Technicians at LaGuardia Community College, 31-10 Thomson Avenue, Queens, on Friday, December 21, at 11 a.m. All members graduating were placed in service on October 29th, 2012 during Super Storm Sandy to assist active FDNY EMS members operating that night.

“On the busiest night we’ve ever experienced, our new graduates were there to help New Yorkers in need - responding through flooded and debris-filled streets to treat and transport patients from damaged homes and buildings without power,” said Commissioner Cassano. “These new Paramedics and EMTs were among the last line of defense for New Yorkers that evening and they will continue their incredible life-saving work for many years to come.”

Nineteen different languages are spoken by this diverse group of graduates, including Korean, Mandarin, Armenian, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese and Russian. All of the new graduates will be assigned to various units throughout the city.

***PHOTO OP***

Press Contact: Francis X. Gribbon & Frank Dwyer, (FDNY) (718) 999-2056

http://www.nyc.gov/fdny