When Little Bijou, the white 12-pound Coton de Tulear, got itself onto thin ice off the Lake House in Clove Lakes Park last winter, it looked like curtains.
Luckily for the dog, Rose Mary Lopez and Joe Fortino, paramedics with Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton, were on the scene.
Fortino grabbed a rescue ladder while Ms. Lopez edged onto the ice, which cracked and left her standing waist-deep in freezing water.
As she clung to the stone wall, Ms. Lopez nudged Little Bijou up the embankment to safety with her foot. The animal was reunited with its owner at the Forest Animal Hospital, West Brighton.
For their heroics, Ms. Lopez and Fontino shared the Life Saver award presented yesterday by Borough President James P. Molinaro at the 17th annual Emergency Medical Services ceremony held at the Vanderbilt in South Beach.
“It is an honor for me to host this ceremony every year to salute the courageous and compassionate members of the Emergency Medical Services. It’s the least we can do to show our appreciation to those men and women who selflessly provide immediate relief and urgent assistance to Staten Islanders in times of accident, emergency and illness,” said Molinaro about the ceremony.
Molinaro proclaimed May 17 to 23 “EMS week” and presented honorees with certificates of recognition.
Dr. Glenn Asaeda from the FDNY Office of Medical Affairs and Chief Marylou Aurrichio of Division 5 Command, also spoke at the brunch.
The Frank W. Geib Memorial EMT Student award and the Instructor of the Year award were presented to Michael Dixon and Katherine Ann Finklestein, respectively.
Borough President James Molinaro, center, stands with the honorees at the 17th annual Emergency Medical Services ceremony at the Vanderbilt, South Beach.Staten Island Advance/ Frank J. Johns
