Volunteer firefighter with kidney disease joins FDNY during emotional ceremony
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BY CAITLIN NOLAN , REUVEN BLAU
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, August 27, 2015, 8:04 PM
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JAMES KEIVOM/NEW YORK DAILY NEWSFDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro (l.) and Chief of Department James Leonard (r.) pose for photos with a beaming Michael Schatzel during a ceremony on Thursday.
A teen battling severe kidney disease was welcomed into the ranks of the FDNY during an emotional ceremony Thursday.
Michael Schatzel, 17, and his family thought they were in line for a simple tour of the FDNY's training academy on Randall's Island Thursday
Instead, they were greeted by a group of New York's Bravest cheering on Michael during his swearing-in ceremony.
"Welcome probie!" the firefighters yelled as Michael and his parents, Mike and Tara, and his sisters, Samantha, 14, and Lacy, 10, wiped away tears.
Schatzel, who needs a kidney transplant, is a volunteer firefighter in Glasco, N.Y., and has dreamed of joining the FDNY ranks.
The ceremony — arranged by Make a Wish — included a personal pep talk byFire Commissioner Daniel Nigro.
"The entire New York City Fire Department is standing with you," Nigro told Schatzel. "Not just this morning but every day as you continue on your road to becoming an FDNY firefighter. You have already battled hard and shown tremendous bravery and courage to be standing with us today."
JAMES KEIVOM/NEW YORK DAILY NEWSFDNY Chief of Department James Leonard swears in Michael Schatzel, 17, as an honorary firefighter. The teen, who needs a kidney transplant, is a volunteer firefighter in Glasco, N.Y.
Chief of Department James Leonard held the bible as Schatzel took the oath of a voluntary firefighter.
"Congratulations probie!" the firefighters cheered. And they chanted, "Michael! Michael! Michael!"
After the ceremony, Schatzel's parents were so overwhelmed they struggled to express their gratitude.
"He started out as a very young child wanting to be a firefighter, and when the doctors suggested the Make A Wish program, he only wanted to be in FDNY," his mother said. "So this experience has been incredible. The Make A Wish people have been amazing. It's beyond our wildest expectations."
As part of the program, Michael will get to complete a series of training drills at the academy. He was first shown how to operate a fire hose and eventually carried it through a hallway and into a room where he controlled the water. Again, he was regaled.
“Good job, bro,” said one of his fellow firefighters.
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