Mount Vernon FD Christmas Day Gesture

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Mount Vernon FD may not have the proper number of Apparatus that is needed to cover a city the size of MV (hopefully that will be rectified soon with the reinstatement of Engine 1, Ladder 3 and Foam 1), but no one can say that the Members of the Mount Vernon Fire Department don't have the HEART as big as any department in the County, bar none. By reading the article below, you cannot say enougth about the kind gesture given. These guys are "TRUE CLASS" through and through.

Mt. Vernon firefighters help injured man celebrate Christmas

By THERESA JUVA

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: December 26, 2007)

MOUNT VERNON - Bryant Mix received his Christmas gift one step at a time yesterday. Seven Mount Vernon firefighters carried the 22-year-old up three flights of stairs to his grandmother's apartment on Millington Street, so he could celebrate Christmas with 30 relatives.

Mix has been unable to walk since July when he was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident on Gun Hill Road in the Bronx. He was hospitalized for four months at Jacobi Hospital before being transferred to a rehabilitation center. Mix suffered a broken femur, sternum and severed artery in his arm, his grandmother Farnese Shelton said.

Yesterday was the first time he was at home with family since the accident, and it would not have been possible without the help of Mount Vernon firefighters from Ladder 3 and Rescue 1, his family said.

They marked the event by taking photos of Mix with the fire fighters.

"The gesture and timing and being that his condition is what it is, it was extremely warming," Shelton said.

She cooked some of Mix's favorite foods for the occasion, including candied yams and sweet potato pie.

Mix said the best part of being home was seeing his 2-year-old son.

"I can see my son open his first present by himself," he said.

Mix's cousin, Larry Oakes, a Mount Vernon firefighter, arranged for him to be carried. He said firefighters are sometimes called to aid people up stairs, but said this situation was special because it was Christmas and Mix was returning home for the first time.

"He can't walk without assistance," he said. "He had to be handled very delicately."

Last night, seven firefighters came back to the apartment to carry Mix down the stairs when it was time for him to return to the rehabilitation center. Mix said spending Christmas with family boosted his spirit and gave him the motivation to face the months of recovery ahead.

Shelton said having her grandson share the holiday with family meant more than any present under the Christmas tree.

"It's not so much the gift you give, it's the idea that he is able to be home," she said. "Him being home, it makes Christmas that much better."