Awards

Joseph M Catalano joined the Elsmere Fire Company as a social member in July of 1990. He transferred to active status in August of 1990 and remained active until January 1995. He remained a social member until September 2001 at which time his personal circumstances allowed him to rejoin as an active member. Our nominee served as Lay Chaplain for the Company in 1991, 1992, 2002, and from 2007 through the present time. He also served as a Company Director for a three year term starting in April 1992. The nominee served as Company Vice-President in 2003 and as President from 2004 through 2006 and again in 2012. In May of 2016, the nominee was appointed to the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Elsmere Fire District to fill an unexpired term and has served on the Board ever since. Joe is very active in the Fire Company serving on numerous committees. In 2012, Joe was awarded the Kenneth E. McNary Achievement Award for his level of achievement and involvement in promoting the goals of the Elsmere Fire Company. In 2015, Joe earned the Kevin M. Shea Participation Award for his outstanding level of participation in Fire Company activities.

In January 2020, Joe booked a vacation trip to sunny Florida to escape the dreary New York winter cold, snow and grey skies. The trip was typical for Joe, who travels to Florida to visit friends and work on his tan. This time, it would be far from business as usual. The flight attendant made an announcement on the loudspeaker requesting any doctor, nurse, EMT, or first responder please report to the back of the plane immediately. Joe rose from his seat instinctively, having no information from a dispatcher or caller to know what the emergency details were. He saw what appeared to be an unconscious male passenger in the middle seat of a 3-seat row. The flight attendant who was requesting the assistance also had found a physician on board, and Joe and the physician began asking questions of the patient’s family members to determine if there were any underlying conditions or activity that would have initiated a medical event. Joe asked the flight attendant if there was an AED on the plane and asked her to retrieve it “NOW!” Helping the patient, Joe said he thought he could feel a faint pulse and the doctor said he could not. Joe asked the doctor to put the unresponsive patient down on the floor of the plane, and they began removing his shirt. Joe applied pads to the skin and the AED was activated and the screen displayed “DO NOT SHOCK”. Although the physician did want to shock the patient, Joe held firm the decision not to. As if by a small miracle, Joe began to feel the patient’s pulse get stronger, and the family of the patient said that the patient may be diabetic. Joe asked the flight attendant for orange juice or glucose packs, which she obtained for him, and he then administered the glucose pack to the man who luckily was able to open his mouth. About twenty minutes later, the patient started to regain consciousness, and opened his eyes. He was more alert and began speaking. Joe, the doctor, the patient and his family all were advised to stay together for the duration of the flight until they made it to Orlando. Joe was wearing an Elsmere Fire Department shirt that day, as he exited the plane and helped transfer the patient to Orlando Airport emergency personnel. Elsmere Fire Department should be honored to have such a brave and heroic firefighter in their family to teach us all that although you can be trained on how to use an AED, you have to remember when NOT to use one, as it could have done more harm than good. To respond to the aid of a stranger without questioning their emergency is a true act of heroism and the courage to make decisions in a crisis. That is why Joseph Catalano is being nominated for the Firefighter of the Year Award 2022.