The New York City Fire Museum has opened a new exhibit that honors the FDNY, and more specifically the FDNY EMS employees, for their extraordinary efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The exhibit “Unmasking Our Heroes,” which is open through August 2022, is on display in several rooms at the museum and is highlighted by an emotional video with three members of from FDNY EMS.
“These are our superheroes!” FDNY Chief of EMS Lillian Bonsignore said. “This is such an extraordinary display. I am so proud of our members who so deserve this recognition. When I look into their eyes, I see every person who was saved.”
One of the rooms in the exhibit features a display of thank you messages that were either sent to departments or hung up around the city in support of the EMS workers. One came all the way from Boston.
Another striking display is a manikin dressed in the gear that the EMS crews needed to don every day. While many members did contract the virus, amazingly only five of the more than 4,000-member staff lost their lives. A testament to their preparedness.
Emotional toll
At the height of the pandemic, the EMS units was responding to more than 6,000 calls per day, hitting an all-time record high of 6,527 in one day. And as the call volume rose, so too did the number of members out sick with COVID. At one point, more than a third of the staff was out. The combination of record high calls and record low attendance just put extra strain on the staff
The three members featured in the video, Deputy Chief Lorena Concepcion-Martinez, Paramedic Juan Gavilanes and EMT Michael Watenberg, were on hand at the opening ceremonies and spoke to Firehouse.com.
Concepcion-Martinez, who is deputy chief of Division 9 in Queens, was a captain at Station 55 in the Bronx when COVID-19 broke out. She remembers how deflated and depressed many members were during the early days of the pandemic.
“It was heartbreaking,” she recalled. “We responded to a call at a residence and had to tell the family that their loved one was gone. What made it so much more emotional was that we were at the same residence the day before when another family member passed. And this wasn’t an isolated incident.”
Gavilanes echoed that sentiment. “The toughest part was being apart from my 5-year-old daughter. She just kept asking, ‘When are you coming home, Daddy?’ and I had no answer.”
Gavilanes said he would sleep at the station or a co-worker’s house, sometimes even in his car. Another huge hurdle these members had to overcome was finding food. Restaurants and fast-food shops were closed, supermarkets were running out of food, and station supplies were running very low. Thankfully, some local restaurants opened their kitchens and donated food to local fire and police stations as well as to local hospitals.
Stepping up
Concepcion-Martinez and Gavilanes agreed that when COVID was at its worst, the community, and specifically their co-workers, were at their best.
“We became one big family,” Gavilanes says, giving a special shout out to his partner Kenny Chan. “He kept me going. I would not have made it through without him.”
“I know this will sound a bit strange,” Concepcion-Martinez said, “but I loved it! The way New Yorkers came together…it was incredible.”
Watenberg, who is an EMT at Station 4 in Manhattan, said events like this is why he became an EMT. “I wanted to be where the action was,” he said, Though, maybe not to this degree.” Watenberg, who thinks he may have contracted COVID at least twice, said he was seeing things he never saw before and that the frequency of calls, while exhausting, was exhilarating as well.
“I say I think I got COVID because somehow, even though I am an EMT treating COVID patients several times a day, I never qualified for testing,” he said with a shrug. “Everyone was sick, but we just kept stepping in for each other, taking care of each other and we made it work.”
All agree that they might not have made it through without the tremendous amount of peer support they received (and gave in return).
Gratitude
All three FDNY EMS members say they were very appreciative of the recognition they received during the pandemic—the thank you signs, the daily banging of pots and pans at 7 p.m., the donated food…and now this exhibit.
“Nothing beats the day I got to hug my girls again. I never wanted to let go!” Concepcion-Martinez said. “But this exhibit is really special. I hope everyone has a chance to come see it.”
“I want New Yorkers to know that this is what we do every single day,” said Bonsignore.
The New York City Fire Museum is located at 278 Spring Street in Manhattan. The “Unmasking Our Heroes,” exhibit is open through August 2022.
Special thanks to New York City Fire Museum Executive Director Jennifer Brown and Collection Manager and Curator Sean P. Britton for their hospitality.
