At the annual installation dinner of the New Hyde Park Fire Department, Sinead Merrick, of the Rescue Company, was presented with the "Firefighter of the Year" award. She was so honored for her exemplary performance under extreme duress in saving the life of a family member.

While at home on an evening in October of 2000, Merrick heard a strange noise in the basement. Upon investigation, she found her father, Andrew, lying unconscious on the floor. She immediately called the fire department requesting an ambulance. She then turned the phone over to her mother, Margaret, and proceeded to further evaluate her father's condition. She found that he was not only unconscious but was also not breathing and had no pulse. She relayed this information to her mother who in turn advised the dispatcher. She immediately began administering CPR.

The alarm was transmitted at approximately 7:45 p.m. and members of the New Hyde Park Fire Department quickly responded. At this time none of them were aware that the victim was another member's parent. One member, who lives across the street, arrived and found Sinead performing one person CPR. He immediately began giving Mr. Merrick mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while Sinead continued chest compressions. As other firefighters arrived, they took over ventilating the patient. An Automatic External Defibrillator was brought in and while Merrick and the others continued to work on her father, a shock was administered which converted his heart to a life sustaining rhythm with a strong pulse and improved blood pressure. He did not, however, begin breathing and ventilation was continued as he was removed to the ambulance and transported to the hospital where he began to breathe on his own. While this was going on, Merrick continued to maintain her composure and supplied the ambulance crew with necessary information regarding her father's medical history, medications, and the circumstances surrounding his collapse.

At the time of this incident, Merrick was an Emergency Medical Technician and was undergoing training as a paramedic. She has since completed her course of study, is certified as a Paramedic and continues to serve with the New Hyde Park Rescue Company.

It is not unusual for a Firefighter/EMT to be involved in a "save" while working on a cardiac arrest but very few can claim that he or she saved the life of a parent. Merricks' presence of mind and professionalism in the face of extreme difficulty make the award one which is richly deserved and in view her father's recovery even more rewarding.