The FDNY held a promotion ceremony for 84 EMS at St. John’s University Monday — including a decorated veteran known for two heroic rescues.
Lt. Jonathan Rivera — a father of three who recently graduated from college after dropping out of high school at 16 — was one of three promoted to captain during the promotion ceremony.
Rivera, 40, won two medals for heroism as a rescue medic working with Special Operations Command in 2019.
In one instance, he rigged a bridge system to rescue NYPD Officer Gary Williams, who had sunk chest-deep into the mud after stepping on a rock while fishing in Rodman’s Neck in 2018.
“On his lunch break, he decided to go fishing with a new rod that he had. Didn’t realize that it rained the night before he started sinking in the marsh,” Rivera told the Post.
“So between my partner and I, we built a kind of bridge system with long boards and some ropes and everything,” Rivera said. “We were able to get him out before he completely submerged. He was in past his chest when we got there, but was able to access his cellphone.”
In another heroic act in 2019, Rivera rescued a man hit by a freight train in Hunts Point
“He received multiple tourniquets and IVs, and fluids, and he actually lost his leg,” Rivera said. “To get to him, the firefighters had to cut the fences, and then we had to use harnesses and everything to climb over the train that was already docked there to get to the patient.”
After his career as a rescue medic, Rivera went on to become an instructor with the Special Operations Command and now heads the EMS competition team that competes against other rescue units around the world.
The other promotions included one new deputy chief, three lieutenants promoted to captain, 17 paramedics promoted to lieutenant, and 63 EMTs who graduated from the Paramedic Basic Program.
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