Putnam EMT Matthew Lamb

[Guest DADAY]

May 23, 2008

Putnam County native added to fallen EMT memorial

Dan Osburn

Albany Bureau ALBANY - Grieving families and emergency medical technicians from across the state gathered in this city to honor two fallen comrades as their names were added to the state's EMS memorial yesterday.

The names of Matthew Lamb of Lake Carmel and Deborah Reeve of the Bronx, a veteran of the New York City Fire Department EMS squad, were added to the memorial near the state Capitol.

"New Yorkers have been blessed with the service that Deborah and Matthew gave to the community," said state Fire Administrator Floyd Madison. "I'm sure they're looking down on us today, and to them I say well done."

The memorial is a large granite monolith engraved with a delicate tree. A polished, reflective "Star of Life"- the national EMS symbol - "hangs" on the tree's branches like a leaf for each of the fallen EMS workers. There are now 34 stars on the tree, dating back to 1985.

Lamb's star hangs from one of the highest branches.

"That's where he belongs," said his mother, Sondra Lamb. She was awarded a copy of the memorial star to bring home.

In addition to employment with Empire State Ambulance, Matthew Lamb was both a volunteer firefighter and volunteer EMS member for Carmel, his mother said. As a volunteer firefighter, he received an award for fire prevention instruction for his work with children in local schools, she said.

"He loved to help," she said. "If the fire tones went off, he was out the door, any time of day or night."

Sondra Lamb, Matthew's father Charles Lamb and Matthew's fiancee, Jennifer Gerard, recalled their lost loved one fondly.

"He had a sense of humor like no one else," Sondra Lamb said. Charles Lamb said, "He had a heart of gold."

He had the "most gorgeous blue eyes in the world," Gerard said. He had a goatee that he took pride in - it always had to be perfectly groomed and just right, she said, laughing.

His sense of humor was amplified by his love for karaoke, she said. "He loved to sing," she said. "Oh my god - Bon Jovi - that was his favorite."

Matthew Lamb died in November at age 25 after an ambulance he was riding in went off Route 9 in Garrison while returning from an early morning call. Reeve, then 43, died in March 2006 of lung cancer contracted while working on the 9/11 rescue effort.

"This year's memorial ceremony honors two of those EMTs who made the ultimate sacrifice," Gov. David Paterson said in a statement. "I am saddened for their loss, but grateful to them and to all Emergency Medical Service personnel for their commitment to their profession and to the lives of all New Yorkers."

There are 58,000 EMS workers in New York, the state Department of Health said.

Throughout the state, 1,146 ambulance services operating more than 5,000 ambulances make more than 2.7 million transports per year, according to Department of Health figures.

[Guest]

didn't even know they had an EMS memorial, great gesture!

[CG206 29]

some pictures of the memorial are located on www.moheganfire.com

[Guest]

some pictures of the memorial are located on www.moheganfire.com

thanks for sharing! btw you guys have a great website, very interactive.

what was the event that all of those ambulances were in Albany?

[CG206 29]

all the ambulances were in Albany for the EMS LODD memorial service

[Guest]

all the ambulances were in Albany for the EMS LODD memorial service

lol my bad i was trying asking when the event was, but i went back to your site to check. thanks again