It's been almost 9 years since his passing. Tommy was a street Paramedic Supervisor for Empress EMS. I worked with him during the early years of my EMS career, back when I was an EMT.
Tommy was alway laid back, friendly, approachable, and a great teacher. I remeber his love for his Supervisor's Tahoe, no matter how much it gave him problems! He always had a great spirit despite the valiant battle with Lupus and the health problems it caused him.
I remember the last time I saw Tommy, it was on a ventilator at Sound Shore Medical Center's ICU, and then at the funeral home across the street from city center.Tommy died of complications from Lupus disease.
His death was a tremendous loss for the Empress EMS family, his own family, fiance, and friends, not to mention the EMS community as a whole.
There's a whole new generation at Empress EMS now who probaly have a whole new set of supervisors. I come from when the old Empress was ending, and the "new" Empress was beginning to emerge. I remember "306 on the back", but there was nothing like hearing "301" on the air.
I reflect on a lot of the EMS lessons he taught me, and to this day remember the wide variety of calls we did together. Tommy's fellow supervisors have gone on to new careers now, but were just as awesome as him. I didn't realize it at the time, but it really was an era. I think about it, especially with all my fellow alumni who are active members of this forum.
Remember 301.
Thomas A. Salvatore III died on November 26, 1999 at the age of 33. He was born
in New Rochelle on January 30, 1966, the son of Thomas A. and Janet Longo
Salvatore. He graduated from New Rochelle High School and is a veteran of the
United States Navy. He was a Paramedic Supervisor with the Empress Ambulance.
