East Windsor Recognizes 'EMTs of the Year'

By: Megan Malloy

East Windsor took some time Tuesday to honor its emergency workers.

During Tuesday evening's Township Council Meeting, Mayor Janice Mironov recognized the East Windsor "EMTs of the Year," Melissa Raczka and Hollis DaSilva, at Tuesday's council meeting.

The mayor commended the volunteers for their commitment to the East Windsor community. 

“Both of our 'EMTs of the Year' are relatively new members of the squad,” Mironov said. “To know that you have direct responsibility for a life-saving measure is really something extraordinary and something that you can carry with great satisfaction for the rest of your life.”

DaSilva, the "EMT of the Year" from Rescue Squad 1,  joined as a cadet in 2008 and became an official member in 2010. In addition to assisting other volunteers with emergency response, DaSilva has been directly responsible for two adult CPR saves. 

“I think it’s really exciting that somebody joins as a cadet status and moves up,” said Mironov, who praised DaSilva for quickly rising through the ranks. “It’s really a tremendous amount of time and a tremendous amount of dedication that go into service and we are certainly grateful.”

Mironov lauded both squads for their 24-hour coverage of the community during Superstorm Sandy. Raczka, the "EMT of the Year" from Rescue Squad 2, was at the squad building when the post-Sandy emergency calls began flooding in.  

“[We had] a lot of people without oxygen, running out of oxygen, nervous that they were going to run out of oxygen,” said Raczka, who joined the squad in 2010 and studies nursing at Mercer County Community College. “I had no power at my own house, so even just driving down, One Mile Road had five or six power lines down at a time. We had to get out of the ambulance a couple times to move trees out of the way.” 

The rescue squads eventually ran out of oxygen bottles and began shuttling those in need to area hospitals. They did the same for residents suffering CO2 poisoning from trying to stay warm in their cars. 

Like many on the squad, what was initially a volunteer opportunity has quickly become a life’s passion for Raszka. 

“I thought it would kind of get my feet wet a little bit into the medical field,” she said. “And it’s been three glorious years.”