Putnam, Westchester and Dutchess First Responders Honored
Poughkeepsie Police Detective John Falcone, who was killed in the line of duty in 2011, was one of several first responders from Dutchess, Westchester and Putnam counties honored on May 23 during a ceremony sponsored by Congresswoman Nan Hayworth at a packed auditorium at the Putnam County Emergency Services Center in Carmel.
Falcone’s parents, Margaret and John Sr., reside in Carmel.
Hayworth praised the first responders and their families. First responders do things “most of us would be unable to do,” she said.
What first responders do “in the face of enormous risk is inspiring,” Hayworth said.
Hayworth read to the attendees what she entered into the Congressional Record on the floor of the House of Representatives on May 15. “This past year brought many challenges to our first responders.,” she said. “It’s a privilege to join all of our neighbors in thanking these men and women. As part of our nation’s first line of defense, our police, fire and emergency services personnel put themselves at risk every day to protect our homes, families and communities.”
Putnam County Sheriff Donald Smith said through the efforts of the first responders the HudsonValley is “such a great place to live.”
“They’re a loving people who when people are running from a building they are running into it,” Smith said.
Hayworth presented Falcone’s father a Certificate of Meritorious Service to honor his son. Falcone was killed in the line of duty on Feb. 18, 2011 responding to a domestic dispute on Main Street.
A video of President Barrack Obama was played during the event. Earlier this month, the president honored fallen police officers during the annual National Peace Officers Memorial Service in Washington D.C. Obama discussed Falcone’s heroism
“Detective Falcone responded to a shot fired call on Main Street. And when he arrived on the scene, he saw a man holding a gun with one hand, and a small child with the other,” Obama said.
“In a situation like that, every instinct pushes us towards self-preservation. But when the suspect fled, still holding the child, Detective Falcone didn’t think twice. He took off in pursuit, and tragically, in the struggle that followed, he was shot and killed. He is survived by his parents,” the president said. “But there’s another survivor as well: A three-year old child who might not be alive today had it not been for the sacrifice of a hero who gave his life for another.”
Both individual and groups of first responders were honored in Carmel. The honorees were: North Salem Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Emergency Management Coordinator Kurt Guldan, Goldens Bridge Volunteer Fire Department Chief Albert Melillo, Goldens Bridge volunteer firefighter Joseph Simoncini Sr., Somers Volunteer Fire Department firefighter Robert Ruston, the Westchester County Technical Rescue Team, Donald Greasser, past captain of the Putnam Valley Volunteer Ambulance Corps., Carmel police officers James Terrazos, Bryan Shay, Mahopac Volunteer Fire Department paramedic Michael Revenson, Lake Carmel Volunteer Fire Department Lieutenant Erin Scott, Brewster Volunteer Fire Department Past Chief Kenneth Clair, Cold Spring Fire Company firefighters Daniel Valentine and Michael Bowman, Cold Spring Fire Company Chief Matthew Steltz, North Highlands Fire Company Captain James Matero, the Cold Spring Volunteer Fire Company, the North Highland Volunteer Fire Company, the Putnam County 911 Emergency Dispatchers, the Putnam County Intelligence Committee, the Fairview Fire Department, and the Veterans Affairs department of the Hudson Valley Health Care System.
