Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Chief Advisor to the Mayor: Good afternoon. It's indeed an honor for me to be here as we celebrate one of our heroes. So I welcome members of FDNY, its union president, the president of the Vulcan Society. I am chaplain Dr. Ingrid P. Lewis-Martin, chief advisor to our mayor, Eric Adams. And we are celebrating a hero, Stefon Douglas. Without any further ado, it is my distinct honor and pleasure to present to you our 110th mayor of New York City, Eric Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: Stefon should be up here. Good seeing you, man. Thank you. My other ear is pierced like you. Real, I was reading over this report and it was just a powerful, powerful summation of someone who goes beyond the call of duty. And I'm sure those who are his colleagues and the union that represents this important line of work and you're never off duty. That's the bottom line. I'm sure Commissioner Kavanagh would say the same thing that when it comes down to being off duty is not even heard of. If you're a firefighter, EMT, EMS, police officer, it's always responding.

Mayor Adams: Here, he finishes tour duty, on his way home, could have just gone home, but instead he saw flames coming from a building, from a house. He was not dressed in his normal firefighter attire, but he immediately responded. He responded and he picked up a garden hose, started putting out the flames, entering the house, heard cries of a child, made his way through the smoke and the flames to get to the child that was in a bathroom and he saved that baby. He saved the baby, allowed her to be rescued. And it just says so much of when you enrolled into a profession like this, you actually say to yourself, this is why I enrolled.

Mayor Adams: This is why I became a firefighter, and I'm sure you said that. And that's how I felt being a police officer when I took actions like that. And so we just want to say thank you. Thank you for going beyond the call of duty. Thank you for putting yourself at risk and thank you for saving a child. And that baby will never forget it. You are permanently connected to her and that child is going to relive this story. We know there's a tragic part of it, but throughout that tragedy, you were there and you showed a level of bravery that we want to just pause and say thank you so much.

Mayor Adams: And this is why we tell folks to join the FDNY, and you're a symbol of what it means, a young man to have a promising career and probably one of the most dangerous assignments that we could experience. I would never forget the commissioner and I, when we were up in the Bronx at the fire that took place in the Bronx and walking through the building and seeing the level of smoke and the training that you have to go through, it's a very challenging job. And people don't realize that even after the smoke is gone and the fire is out, the men and women who do this job, just from smoke inhalation, from the stress.

Mayor Adams: We buried firefighters this year that went through some terrible parts of the job, and so it just really means a lot when we can pause for a moment and just say thank you. And we wanted to make sure we did not fail to do so for your heroic actions. And I want to turn it over to the commissioner, Commissioner Kavanagh.

Acting Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, Fire Department: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And I agree with everything you said, it's great to have a happy day. And as you mentioned in every speech that I've given since I stepped into this job, I talk about how being a firefighter is a role on duty and off duty. That once you step into the uniform, this is who you are and you exemplify that for us today and we couldn't be more proud. It's great to be able to celebrate you, to say thank you. And as I understand it, you also had your gear in your car. So not only were you ready to rescue, but you were also prepared and your training was ready to go.

Acting Commissioner Kavanagh: So, I think you're an inspiration for your colleagues who are sitting here. You're an inspiration for me. You're an inspiration for a future generation of firefighters and certainly you're an inspiration and a second chance at life for that little girl. So we can't thank you enough.

Firefighter Stefon Douglas: Thank you.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. 

Douglas: I just want to say thank you for everyone that's here. Thank you for an award. This job, I love it. And I took a chance at it and it became something that's, I can't even fathom some of the experiences I've been through, the opportunities that arise. And I just want to say thank you to everyone. It's been a blessing. Thank you.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. 

Lewis-Martin: It's indeed an honor for Mayor Adams and Commissioner Kavanagh to present to our hero, Stefon Douglas, a Proclamation signifying today, Friday, July 15th as Firefighter Stefon Douglas Day. Thank you.

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