By Laura French
NEW YORK — An FDNY paramedic whose father was an FDNY firefighter has been promoted to lieutenant, the rank his father had looked forward to achieving before dying in the line of duty.
Lt. Michael Toomey, 36, said his father, fallen Firefighter John “Jack” Toomey, completed all the requirements to become a lieutenant before dying from a heart attack at age 36 while fighting a blaze in 1987, according to the New York Daily News.
“I was 4 years old when he died,” said Toomey. “He dedicated his life very literally to protection. I wanted to do the same thing.”
Lt. Toomey has worked in EMS for 14 years, and says he seeks to continue his father’s legacy through his service. He was promoted to lieutenant in a ceremony on Wednesday.
“He was striving to move up within the department,” he said. “I feel like I’m doing what he wanted to do had he not passed early.”
Toomey and his partner, Paramedic Samantha Neverson, received medals in 2012 for leading multiple people to safety during an apartment fire by going door-to-door.
“I thought it was kind of funny,” Toomey said. “I preferred medicine, I wanted to go into EMS, and here I was running into a burning building.”
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