On the evening of June 7th, the New Jersey & New York Volunteer Firemen's Association held its 109th convention in Montvale (NJ).  Established in 1913, the organization consist of some 700 members, that includes personal, company and department memberships, covering Bergen County (NJ) and Rockland County (NY). 

During the ceremony, awards were presented for such categories as life saving actions, unit citations, service milestone recognition, scholarships, etc. 

The Presidential Citation Award was given to a very special person.  Firefighters are known for saving the lives of civilians.  It's not every day that a civilian saves the life of a firefighter.

Lodi ex-Chief Anthony Maiolo was diagnosed with a serious illness that required him to undergo dialysis.  A kidney transport would be needed to keep him alive.

Family and fire department members were tested, but none were a match.

Nancy Scaramuzzo has fire service ties due to the fact that she is the fiance of Hasbrouck Heights ex-Chief and retired Hackensack F.D. dispatcher Tony Greco.  He is also a Fire Engineering photographer, that covers the FDIC events. 

Nancy saw a Facebook post about Chief Miaolo's need for a kidney, and she was tested.  She was a perfect match.  A successful kidney transplant was conducted on June 13, 2023. 

When asked why she volunteered to donate a kidney, her answer was, “I just wanted to do a nice thing.”