4 days ago
Stricken NYC firefighter promoted in ‘very emotional' ceremony: ‘Meant so much to him'
It was an honor he'd been patiently waiting for.
The FDNY — in an emotional ceremony Thursday — promoted firefighter Mark Dziemian, who has been hospitalized since suffering cardiac arrest while responding to a two-alarm fire in Brooklyn on March 16.
Dziemian's wife, Jackee, and their two children accepted the promotion to lieutenant on his behalf in a ceremony at the College of Staten Island. She said it was a moment her husband had been counting down to.
'Mark has been looking forward to this for so long,' Jackee said. 'He took the test in 2022, and becoming a lieutenant meant so much to him.
'It was really touching to look around the room to see FDNY firefighters and their families feeling what we're going through,' she said.
FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker told The Post he was 'very emotional' during the event, adding that Dziemian was due for the title change.
'This was a civil service promotion, and there was no question in my mind that we wanted to promote him when we reached his number, and the mayor was incredibly supportive of that as well,' Tucker said.
Dziemian's wife and children, Sophia, 4 years old, and Michael, 8 months, received a long standing ovation as they walked across the stage to accept his new rank.
'I'd be surprised if there were a dry eye in that room that was filled with a lot of tough people,' Tucker said. 'It was exactly how I wanted his wife and family to see how we feel about her, her family, and Mark.'
During his career, Dziemian has served the FDNY in various capacities, including representing the department in the ceremonial unit at funerals, flag raisings, and other formal events.
Tucker said Dziemian's friends and coworkers have been a constant source of support for his family since his medical emergency.
'Anytime a firefighter or EMT or a paramedic or frankly anybody in the FDNY gets injured in the line of duty, it is a profound event,' Tucker said. 'It is something that we all respond to.'
Dziemian, who works out of Engine 217 in Bushwick, grew up in Maspeth, Queens, attended St. Adalbert Elementary School in Elmhurst, Queens, played multiple sports at Xavier High School and studied theater and visual arts at Fordham University.
He followed in the footsteps of his cousin, Walter, and became an EMT. A chance meeting with former Assistant Commissioner of Communications Stephen Gregory inspired him to join the FDNY.
'Mark is an exemplary firefighter that I considered like a fourth son,' said Gregory, whose family has four generations on the job. 'I had my dad's lieutenant's badge put aside for Mark so that he will receive badge #1207.'
A proud Polish American, Dziemian is the president of the FDNY's Pulaski Association, a charitable organization of firefighters with Polish and other Slavic roots.
On March 1, two weeks before Dziemian's injury, he was proud to report that the Pulaski Association's annual dinner dance raised $1,500 for the Children's Smile Foundation, which helps kids in need, as well as $5,000 for the NYC Firefighters Burn Center Foundation, which sends childhood burn victims to summer camp.
Dziemian – a Middle Village resident who turned 41 years old in the hospital on March 29 – encouraged his lifelong friend, Mariusz Jastrzebski, who owns Syrena Bakery in Greenpoint, to sponsor the Pulaski Association.
'Being Polish American with parents who came from Poland, he wanted to use his heritage and being a firefighter for good in the community,' Jastrzebski said. 'Now, I'm in awe of how the FDNY and the community have stepped up for his family.'
Dziemian was taken to Wycoff Heights Medical Center in Bushwick immediately after the cardiac incident but was transferred to Lenox Hill that same night. After relocating again to North Shore University Hospital on Long Island, Dziemian is 'fighting to recover' at the Rusk Rehabilitation Center in Manhattan, where his wife is driven daily by FDNY members.
As Dziemian battled his injuries, his mother, Agnes, succumbed to cancer March 27. His father, Eugene, passed away in March 1998.
Jackee Dziemian says it's hard to describe the outpouring of support from the FDNY Family Assistance Unit, the Uniformed Firefighters Association, and the medical teams caring for her husband.
On Saturday, friends, family and fellow firefighters watched as the FDNY Marine Unit paid tribute to Dziemian with a water demonstration of boats along the East River.
More than 615 tickets have been sold for a 'tailgate benefit' scheduled for before the Mets game June 11 at Citi Field.
A GoFundMe page started to help ease the financial strain on Dziemian's family raised nearly $50,000 in two days.
'This is who Mark is,' Jackee Dziemian said. 'If this happened to anybody else, he'd be out theresupporting them.'
