RIP Paramedic Lev Naumov-Empress EMS

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RIP Paramedic Lev Naumov of Empress EMS, who was killed in a small plane crash on the afternoon of April 23, 2005 in Armonk, while recieving flight instruction.Lev was only 23 years old, and had just graduated Medic school last June. He thouroughly enjoyed working the EMS sytems of Yonkers, Mount Vernon, and Pelham, where he had been an EMT since 2001. Lev will be sorely missed by all who knew and worked with him. Lev was also a member of this forum, and an aspiring pilot who aimed to buy his own plane as overtime permitted.

Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family and friends.

Also RIP to his flight instructor who was with him, Isaac Negron

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Deepest sympathy to friends and family.

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Here is the Empress Statement:

Lev Alex Naoumov

(7/2/1981 – 4/23/2005)

The Administration and staff of Empress Ambulance Service are forever saddened by the tragic, untimely loss of our friend and co-worker Lev Alex Naoumov.  We would like to extend our most sincere condolences and heartfelt support to Lev’s family and his friends in the community during this most trying time.

Lev was a distinguished member of the Empress Family.  He was an accomplished paramedic with a true talent for providing a personal and reassuring approach to patient care.  Our patients, their family members and the emergency services community have lost a true champion and one of the future stars of our field. Our staff has lost a valued friend and partner.

We will remember Lev most for his friendship, his passion for EMS, his natural talent and concern in caring for others. He will be missed, but not forgotten.

Michael Minerva,

Empress Ambulance Service,

Senior Vice President

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Paramedic had set sights on sky

By BILL HUGHES AND CANDICE FERRETTE

whughes@thejournalnews.com

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: April 26, 2005)

YONKERS — Paramedic Lev Naoumov briefly considered going to medical school after graduating from college with a biology degree before the urge to become a professional pilot took hold of him a few months ago.  

Yesterday, his family and friends were still reeling from the outcome of that career decision, which led to the well-liked 23-year-old man's death, along with his instructor, in a plane crash Saturday.  

"It's very unreal," said Naoumov's father, Alexi. "We, his mother and I, cautioned him against moving so quickly in that direction. But that was what he wanted to do."  

Jamie Fortunato, 22, a co-worker of Naoumov's at Empress Ambulance Service in Yonkers, said she had asked her friend and classmate from paramedic school if he had considered the potential for danger he faced as a pilot.  

"He told me that he loved flying, that there was nothing like it, and I guess this is kind of eerie, but he said even if he did crash, at least he'd die happy because he was doing something he loved," Fortunato said.  

Gary Reben, 27, another fellow paramedic, said that he had been out shooting pool with Naoumov on Friday night, and his friend had said he would not be flying the next day because of bad weather in the forecast.  

"That was why we stayed out as late as we did," Reben said. "When the news first came out, people were calling me and asking if it was really Lev, and at first I said it couldn't be, he told me he wasn't going flying."  

Black and purple bunting was draped over the Nepperhan Avenue headquarters of Empress in Yonkers yesterday, and at the paramedic station adjacent to the Pelham Manor Fire Department, where Naoumov had been stationed since January, said Pelham Manor Fire Chief Joseph Ruggiero.  

"That's an honor we normally reserve for firefighters from our department, but we put it up as a tribute to him," Ruggiero said. "It was the right thing to do."  

Ruggiero said that in the four short months that Naoumov had worked as an Empress paramedic alongside the village's department, he had impressed everyone who met him as an affable, dedicated and ambitious young man.  

"He was a nice kid, very likable and very dedicated to his profession," Ruggiero said.  

Bill Rothschild, another Empress co-worker, said one reason Naoumov was so well-liked was his easygoing demeanor.  

"I would call him the Clark Kent of EMTs," Rothschild said. "He was a mild-mannered, really nice guy who stayed calm under pressure and always got the job done."  

Terry Rahilly, another paramedic at Empress, agreed.  

"He was a real clinician," said Rahilly, 31. "It is very easy to do the minimum, but he always went above and beyond. And he loved teaching. He was always so eager to share."  

"He was exceptionally intelligent," said Philip Case, 21, of South Salem, who graduated from paramedic school with Naoumov. "We've only been paramedics for about 10 months, but he performed like a veteran."  

Beth Chin, 42, of Yonkers said she had shared a Saturday shift with Naoumov for a few months and spent hours chatting.  

"If something wasn't going right, he made you feel special," Chin said.  

Last night, a stress management team came into the ambulance company's headquarters to aid in the grieving process. After about an hour and a half of group counseling, friends and co-workers said they recalled several fond memories of Naoumov, and it had helped. Counseling also will be offered for members of the company at the Nepperhan Avenue facility tonight.  

Gathered in front of a candle-lit shrine with photos of Naoumov, his closest friends and co-workers talked about his larger-than-life attitude, his love of adventure and how excited he was two weeks ago when he bought a new BMW.  

"He called me up and said, 'I got to go somewhere, let's go out,' " said Lisa Zirolnik, 22, an Empress co-worker. "He liked his toys."  

Wake, services for Lev Naoumov  

Visitation is from 7 to 9 p.m. today at Flynn Memorial Home, 1652 Central Park Ave., Yonkers. Tomorrow, a funeral procession will leave the funeral home at 10 a.m. and proceed to Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla. The Pelham Fire Department has offered its firehouse at 219 Fifth Ave. for a gathering after the burial. Family, friends and co-workers are welcome to attend.

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Memorial gathering for pilot killed in crash

By ERNIE GARCIA

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original Publication: April 28, 2005)

Lev Naoumov had the type of personality that quickly made an impression.

"Everybody remembered him, even the guy at the car wash," said Glen Cappello, the town of Pelham's emergency services coordinator.  

The 23-year-old paramedic was killed on Saturday in a plane crash near Westchester County Airport. Naoumov, of Yonkers, died with his flight instructor, Isaac Negron of Hamden, Conn.

And while Naoumov's friendly, outgoing demeanor won him friends far and wide, colleagues yesterday also praised his medical skills. "He was an excellent clinician," said Dan Minerva, vice-president of operations at Empress Ambulance Service, where Naoumov worked. "He was really a bright kid."

Minerva — along with dozens of paramedics and other public safety workers — joined Naoumov's family at a repast in the Pelham Fire Department's firehouse on Fifth Avenue after his funeral at the Flynn Memorial Home in Yonkers.  

The presence of so many uniformed attendees at the funeral and at the later gathering made an impression on Alexei Naoumov, 51, Lev Naoumov's father.

"It's something quite unexpected. I know there was camaraderie among the three branches of public safety, but I did not think that it extended that far," said Alexei Naoumov, referring to a police escort and the send-off given his son by firefighters. "It's an incredible outpouring of sentiment. We could not imagine that."

Black and purple bunting was draped over Empress' Nepperhan Avenue headquarters in Yonkers after his death, and at the paramedic station adjacent to the Pelham Manor Fire Department, where Naoumov had been stationed since January.

Alexei Naoumov, a Yonkers resident and a translator at the United Nations, said he also was surprised by how many people his son knew. Cappello said the large show of support was due to Lev Naoumov's personality.

"Everybody remembers what a polite, respectful and professional paramedic he was," Cappello said. "The village of Pelham's fire chief offered the space (for the gathering) because Empress has been involved with the town of Pelham for eight years, and a lot of the Empress employees are like employees of the town and they feel at home here."

The plane flown by Naoumov was operated by the American Flyers flight school at the airport. Authorities will issue a preliminary report on the crash at the end of this week, and a full report is expected in about six months.

Naoumov was pursuing a dream of becoming a professional pilot.