By Laura Lane
But in the last three years, Segota has found the sense of community she longed for by volunteering as an emergency medical technician in the North Merrick Fire Department.
"When I joined the North Merrick Fire Department, I found that connection, an extended family," said Segota, who while being interviewed by the Herald, vigilantly listened to each call coming over her radio. "I really enjoy being an EMT, the different situations, the intensity of it. It gets your blood going."
Segota is an accountant who works out of her home. So she said that being in the North Merrick Fire Department also provides her with an outlet for socialization. She decided to give volunteering a try during a fire department social.
"My son William had just become a North Merrick firefighter, and actually I'd been hanging around the firehouse for years while he was in the Explorer program, so I knew everyone," recalled Segota. "I was at their Fourth of July picnic, and one of them turned around and said to William, 'Why not get mom involved?' I enrolled in EMT school shortly after that."
In her short time as an EMT, Segota has already made her mark. She's the proud recipient of the 2005 Life Saving Award from the North Merrick Fire Department and displays her trophy in her North Merrick living room. She will also receive an honorable mention from the Nassau Regional EMS Council for 2005 Basic Life Support Provider of the Year in October.
Segota will receive the award for saving a North Merrick man who was in severe respiratory distress by using an epi-pen (an autoinjector of adrenaline used to treat people with a life-threatening allergic reaction), which she had trained to use but had never tried.
Segota, though, has also had to deal with the reality that she can't always save the victim. "The first time I walked into the room where a person was dead, it was distressing, but you think about the situation and give the person the dignity that they deserve," said Segota. "You work with the family. And I have years of my own personal experiences of death losing my family members, so I cope with the situation and fall apart later."
Segota, the mother of three grown children, doesn't always share the details of her rescues with her family. "My husband, Larry, always asks about the calls, but there are times I don't want my family to know what goes on, especially if it's a family member of someone my kids went to school with," said Segota. "If it's a death, I don't tell them the whole story. I'm seeing the personal moments of a person's life, and I want them to maintain their dignity."
She finds that being a woman can be an advantage at times, especially when she's responding to a call where the victim is an elderly woman. "They feel more comfortable that I'm a female and become more at ease, which makes them relax more, and their blood pressure goes down," said Segota.
North Merrick Fire Department EMTs respond to fires and rescue calls. The call can involve the smell of gasoline, a house where the smoke alarm has gone off or a car accident. The North Merrick department is on call 24 hours, seven days a week.
"When people call 911, it bounces back to us," explained Segota. "If people would call the [department's] number directly, it would save time, and in some situations, every minute counts."
As a volunteer, Segota isn't required to answer every call, but she feels a need to help as much as she can. "You make the job what you get out of it," said Segota. "From day one, I wanted to be on that first bus, that first ambulance that responded. Some people shy away from that, are afraid or don't know if they can handle it. For me, even if the people there are more advanced, I watch. I've always been the kind of person that liked to help others."
Comments about this story? Llane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
