ANTHONY DELMUNDO/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS(L-R) Timothy Cardinal Dolan, FDNY firefighter Mike Shepherd, and FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro pose for photos at the Association for a Better New York event in Manhattan on Monday.
He’s been praised by everyone from Mayor de Blasio to Cardinal Dolan, but the hero firefighter from last month’s East Village blast is most happy he made his mom proud.
Mike Shepherd, who climbed to the top floor of 121 Second Ave. to check for trapped residents, said he is routinely stopped by grateful New Yorkers ever since the video of his heroics went viral.
Firefighters also tell him that his actions that day are an “inspiration.”
“A lot of people come over, thanking me, shaking my hand,” said Shepherd, after being honored at the Association for a Better New York on Monday.
All the attention has made his mother Margaret Shepherd McDonald — who has been battling some health issues — very proud, he said.
“It gave her a boost,” he said. “She’s feeling better for the last week.”
ANTHONY DELMUNDO/NEW YORK DAILY NEWSFDNY firefighter Mike Shepherd was honored Monday for his heroics during last month's East Village blast.
He said he noticed people whipping out their cellphones as he climbed the fire escape, but didn’t have time to think about it.
“I just had to pay attention to what I was doing,” he said.
He confessed to getting a little nervous at one point climbing the burning building, which collapsed right after he finished checking for victims.
“I said ‘Oh, boy, what did you do now?’” he said.
“I just kept my cool and came down.”
Two people died in the explosion— Nicholas Figueroa, 23, and Moises Locon, 26.
Shepherd choked up speaking about them.
“It was a terrible day,” he said. “The two people that died, I wish they were still with their families.”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment-- or suggestions, particularly of topics and places you'd like to see covered