FDNY Firefighter Kevin Paulicelli released from hospital. Here’s more on life-saving drug he received.
NEW YORK -- A firefighter injured in the line of duty was released from Jacobi Medical Center on Sunday. A life-saving drug to reverse poisoning from smoke inhalation is credited with saving Kevin Paulicelli's life.
By Kristie Keleshian
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NEW YORK (WCBS) — A firefighter injured in the line of duty was released from Jacobi Medical Center on Sunday.
A life-saving drug to reverse poisoning from smoke inhalation is credited with saving Kevin Paulicelli’s life.
“Everyone worked together, really did their job. I’m here now because of all of them,” Paulicelli, still with bandages on his arms, said.
The 38-year-old father of two collapsed Friday while fighting a smoky two-alarm fire inside a Bronx home. A mayday was called and fellow firefighters rushed to drag him out. By the time he got to the sidewalk he was unconscious. What saved him was an injection of hydroxocobalamin.
“That usually is the thing that kills you. More often than the fire, itself, is that deadly smoke. So the fact that it can reverse that poisoning and that it can actually revive someone it really is a miracle drug,” Paulicelli said.
The FDNY shared that Paulicelli has been on the job for at least three years, is currently on rotation to Engine 90 in the Bronx, and is an Army veteran.
“As a firefighter and a person, he’s top notch. He’s the kind of guy you want have with you in any situation, especially a situation like that,” Engine 90 Capt. Richard Cudden said.
Cudden was there with Paulicelli on Friday as he was rushed to the hospital.
“It was scary but I’m very relieved at how everything turned out,” Cudden said. “[He has] got a little ways to go, but with the support of this great department we’re gonna get there.”
Still in recovery, Paulicelli has a network of support that goes far beyond the dozens of firefighters who cheered him on his way back home Sunday.
“For us, we save lives every day and our members are so special for doing that, but to have saved the life of one of our own is particularly special between the firefighters, the EMTs, and the medics. It feels good,” FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said.
“To all of our members here, everyone did a phenomenal job. Everyone. What they did to me saved my life,” Paulicelli said.
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