Elmont firefighter Dupoux receives Liberty Award

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While off duty on Feb. 1, Elmont volunteer firefighter Jeffrey Dupoux, along with Suffolk County police officer Tom Mutarelli, helped pull a woman on the Long Island Expressway to safety from her burning car. Senator Todd Kaminsky, alongside Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, awarded a Liberty Medal, the highest civilian honor a state senator can bestow, to Dupoux on Feb. 12. 
Kaminsky said he was honored to award the Liberty Medal to Dupoux for his selfless and heroic actions. 

"Jeffrey Dupoux showed extraordinary courage when he stopped and risked his own safety for another," he said. "He exemplified the commitment to service that Dupoux and all of our first responders show in the line of duty. He truly was the right man in the right place at the right time."

Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages expressed her gratitude. "On behalf of the Twenty-second Assembly District, I wish to thank Elmont Volunteer Fireman Jeffrey Dupoux for his heroic actions on the Long Island Expressway," she said. "His calm demeanor, quick thinking, and dedication, saved a young woman's life. The community applauds Mr. Dupoux and encourages New Yorkers to follow his example of selfless devotion to duty."

During the morning of Feb. 1, after an accident on the Long Island Expressway, Dupoux and Mutarelli saved Melissa Ortiz, of Yaphank, who was trapped in her car. They pulled her to safety through a broken window.The New York State Liberty Medal award program is the highest civilian honor that can be bestowed by a member of the New York State Senate. Liberty Medals are adopted by resolution and remain on file in the Secretary of the Senate's Office. Criteria for receiving the award include meritorious, humanitarian, selfless, noble, heroic and exceptional actions, officials said.

"It was amazing," Dupoux said, about receiving his award. "I'm just blessed and happy that I got to share the moment with friends and family."