By Luke Peteley , Jan Somma-Hammel
Staten Island Advance
NEW YORK — Paramedic Edva Pace of EMS Station 22 in Sea View was off duty and shopping at Costco in New Springville on Jan. 3, 2024, when she heard the thud of a body collapsing to the floor.
Pace, who was on the phone with her friend at the time, immediately dismissed the call and jumped into action to assist the downed woman. The paramedic checked for a pulse and found none. She performed CPR and called 911.
It was Pace’s quick thinking and application of life-saving skills that ultimately resuscitated the patient, an act of heroism that earned her the Extraordinary Care Award at the 2025 FDNY Valor Awards Ceremony, held Thursday at the Historic Old Bermuda Inn, in Rossville.
“Honestly, I was surprised, because I didn’t think I did anything that anybody else wouldn’t,” Pace said.
While Pace may not have found her actions to be noteworthy, the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce members believed the act was one of valor, and acknowledged her, along with another 18 members of the FDNY, at the afternoon luncheon.
Before praise was heaped upon the distinguished honorees, the blare of the bagpipes ushered the gathering to stand at attention for the presentation of the colors and an invocation.
Linda Baran, president and CEO of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, kicked off the series of speakers, thanking the guests and sponsors of the event.
Among those who lauded the fine work of the FDNY was Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella.
“Nothing is ever planned; It (an emergency) could happen in the blink of an eye, it could happen down the block in a friend’s home or it could happen in the catastrophe of 9/11,‘’ Fossella said. ”Either way, we are there for the Fire Department, for the men and women who put their lives at risk every single day. You epitomize the true notion of what valor is all about.”
Those present recognized the late Anthony Aquaro, who passed away in January at the age of 103. He was then the oldest living retired member of the FDNY.
A standing ovation was given to his longtime wife, Gloria, who was honored as special guest.
First Deputy Commissioner Mark Guerra, a former Castleton Corners resident, was the ceremony’s keynote speaker.
“One word people always use to describe Staten Island is ‘community,’ and I have always felt that here,” Guerra said. “It is one of the amazing things this borough shares with the FDNY, a sense of your friends and neighbors becoming your family.
“We show up in support and solidarity,‘’ he said. ”It is this repeated action of showing up, time and again, that makes this borough the great place that it is.”
Guerra shared a story of how his 88-year-old mother with Alzheimers Disease, of Westerleigh, fell and broke her hip about a year ago. Once Guerra found knew the members of Engine 163 were on the scene, he knew she was in good hands, he said.
“They put her at ease,” Guerra said. “She was in terrible pain; You didn’t hear a word of complaint from her. Those guys, what they did for my mother that night, I can never, ever repay them.”
Pace may have been the sole recipient of the Extraordinary Care Award, but she was not the only individual to receive praise for her efforts.
Firefighter Kievon Harper, of Rescue 5 in Concord, was awarded the Bravery Award for his display of heroism in extracting an individual from a burning building in Grasmere.
On Sept. 30, 2024, Harper pushed through a heavily cluttered building in zero visibility and found a semi-conscious individual on the second floor of a burning building. Despite lacking backup from a hose line, Harper hoisted a 200-pound man down the stairs to safety before continuing his search efforts.
“Staten Island is one of these places where, you know, you could rescue somebody today and then see them in ShopRite or Stop & Shop tomorrow,” said Harper, a resident of Clifton. “So it’s like a very neighborhood-kind-of area, and I’m from the Island . . . so it’s always a pleasure to have a ‘grab’ in the neighboring area.”
Another celebrated response was a water rescue on May 8, 2024. At the time, a person was trapped in an overturned vehicle in the waters off a Tottenville beach. Members of Engine 151, Squad 8, Rescue 5 and EMS assisted in the response, and were able to extract the unconscious woman, conduct CPR and ultimately revive her.
These actions earned Engine 151, of Tottenville, the Engine Company of the Year Award and earned several EMS members a Clinical Excellence Award.
Additional EMS responders received such awards for saving the life of individual who had difficulty breathing and accidentally started a fire while using oxygen, resulting in second-degree burns. First responders to the scene on Sept. 12, 2024, were able to resuscitate the patient, who had no pulse.
Another award went to Ladder Company 78, of New Brighton, which took home the Ladder Company of the Year award.
In its rescue on Dec. 15, 2023 , the company responded to a fire at 208 Benziger Avenue, New Brighton. The unit worked together, facing punishing conditions, to find and rescue an unconscious civilian.
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