The Stewart Manor Fire Department received a Fire Department EMS unit citation during an awards ceremony April 18 for the valiant efforts the department made at an emergency rescue call in December 2006 for a young woman who had just delivered a child at 24 weeks. The department was officially honored during the recent Nassau County Fire Commission awards ceremony last month.

According to Stewart Manor Fire Chief Ronald Sopp, on Dec. 16, 2006, many members of the Stewart Manor Fire Department were at a holiday party at Stewart Manor Fire Commissioner Kelly's house. While there, at approximately 10:39 p.m. a young agitated child came running into the commissioner's house stating there was a "bad" emergency on Salisbury Avenue and Bromleigh Road in Stewart Manor. The child did not however say what the nature of the emergency was.

Unknown to what Stewart Manor Assistant Chief Dan O'Keefe was responding to, he responded in his chief's car while some members were running down the block to the house. Upon Assistant Chief O'Keefe's arrival, firefighters' pagers were sounding.

A frantic scene at the curbside - a young female half clothed and bleeding profusely, confronted Assistant Chief O'Keefe. The female had apparently delivered a child, which was covered in blood and still attached to the placenta. Assistant Chief O'Keefe, who is also a paramedic, grabbed his tech bag and brought her into her house. She was holding a very small newborn child, who was barely breathing. She said that she was 24 weeks pregnant and high risk. Assistant Chief O'Keefe took the child from her and began to assess its vital signs. He was told that her grandmother had attempted CPR and rescue breathing. He then suctioned the child's mouth and nose numerous times with a bulb syringe to clear the obstructed airway of blood and mucus. Once the mouth was cleared it was determined that the child had a very weak pulse of approximately 50-60 beats per minute (bpm) and respirations at 16 times a minute. The color of the child was very pale and the newborn was cold and flaccid, according to Stewart Manor Fire Chief Ronald Sopp.

At this time, Assistant Chief O'Keefe performed chest compressions and started to ventilate the child with a bag valve mask. Firefighters Somerset and McCaughey responded and began to assist him in treatment. Commissioner Kelly, also a paramedic, came into the house and assisted in the treatment as well. Stewart Manor Ambulance 194 arrived at 10:41 p.m. and left with the child. An additional ambulance had been called for the mother, who was in shock, still bleeding and being treated by other department EMTs. While 194 was en route, the crew, which was made up of two paramedics, two EMTs and two firefighters, continued CPR, assessment and ventilation of the newborn via a bag valve mask. Prior to arrival at Long Island Jewish Hospital, the child began to stabilize and was supported by ventilations from the crew. The newborn child was no bigger than the size of Chief Sopp's hand and only weighed slightly over a pound.

"I have reviewed medical literature and the survival rate of such a premature child under ideal circumstances delivered in a hospital facility is 10 percent," Chief Sopp added. "Clearly the circumstances of the delivery on that night were not ideal, however ... the child is viable and the family is doing well."

Chief Sopp further noted that the irony of the call is that the Stewart Manor Fire Department had just returned from visiting the wounded troops from Iraq and Afghanistan at military hospitals in Baltimore and North Carolina the weekend prior to the incident.

"Little did we know the child's father was in Iraq with the U.S. Army and the mother returned to stay with relatives during her high risk pregnancy," Chief Sopp said. "It worked out that our members were right around the corner from the house and our ambulance response was very quick. Due to the immediate response and our teamwork this child is still alive and has a great recovery chance. This call came in at 2239 hours and our ambulance responded within two minutes, was on scene for four minutes and at the hospital at 2250 hours."