September 11, 2021
PAINTED POST – With the 20th anniversary of terrorist attacks as a backdrop, more than 150 people were on hand Saturday to recognize four praiseworthy examples of life-saving response at the Tri-County First Responders Honor Park in Erwin.
US Congressman Tom Reed, R-Corning told the crowd he travelled to New York City after a series of terrorist attacks Sept. 11, 2001 on the Twin Towers there, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa. where passengers foiled a suicide Flight 93.
Reed said it was one of the times people in America wondered how they would recover.
“Then I saw the first responders,” Reed said. “I’d knew we’d be OK.”
The same impulse that drove those firefighters, emergency medical and police to save lives 20 years ago is still as present today throughout the three counties:
Honorees are:
Matthew Marmor, Steuben County Emergency Health Coordinator.
Since the onslaught of the pandemic COVID-19, Marmor has been solid as a rock in providing personal protective equipment and organizing more than 200 COVID testing and vaccination clinics.
“He was always first-in, first-out,” county Public Health Director Darlene Smith said. “”He grew weary, but he never showed it, or slowed down. He was patient when others were irritated. He partnered with outside agencies in a way that made them feel included and important.”
Marmor’s efforts resulted in more than 14,000 vaccinations, fully 33 percent of all county residents now vaccinated.
“You save lives, Matthew,” Smith said.
State Trooper Robert J. Webster
Webster was called to the scene March 26 of an unresponsive infant in Avoca. Met by a frantic mother reporting her two-year-old daughter was having seizure and not breathing, Webster learned the child had been eating gummies with milk.
He began the Infant Heimlich Maneuver and when the little girl began to respond he placed her in the recovery position.
Transported by EMS to a hospital, the child was fully conscious and alert, according to Capt. Jason M. Haag.
“A tragedy was averted,” Haag said. “A family will never forget the heroics of that day.”
Steuben County Sheriff’s Office – First Responder Unit
Under the direction of county Sheriff Jim Allard, the office is a pioneer in implementing an emergency medical technician program with almost 30 staff now certified EMTs.
Now a state Certified EMS BLSTR Agency, the department has developed a program to equip their providers and patrol cars, said Mike Pirrozolo, EMSTAR executive director.
“One of their most important achievements a shortened response time for definitive medical care, Pirrozolo said.
The department has been an instrumental transportation partner with the county Public Health Department during the pandemic, he noted.
** Special recognition was given Saturday to Father Lewis Brown, a local priest who was instrumental in founding the Honor Park in Erwin. A year after he died, Brown’s efforts were honored with the Father Lewis E. Brown Memorial Walkway, which encircles the new “The Lifesaver” statue unveiled Saturday.
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