FDNY photo Michael Schatzel, 17, of Saugerties, is about to become honorary FDNY firefighter in a ceremony on Thursday.
SAUGERTIES >> A Saugerties teenager has become an honorary New York City firefighter.
Michael Schatzel, 17, of Saugerties, became an honorary firefighter of the Fire Departement of New York at FDNY Training Academy on Randall’s Island on Thursday as part of the “Make a Wish” program. Schatzel is battling a severe kidney disease.
“Today, Michael, you are one of us,” said FDNY Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro.
Schatzel is a volunteer firefighter in Glasco. More than 100 probationary firefighters at the Fire Academy were present to cheer him on, chanting his name and “one of us!” according to the FDNY.
In a NBC video, Schatzel can be seen receiving the honors in New York City and also congratulatory messages from Matt Lauer and others.
His parents, Mike and Tara, and his sisters, Samantha and Lacy, were at the event.
Schatzel “and his family took a tour of the Fire Academy, went for a ride on Fireboat Three-Forty-Three at Marine Company 1, shared a meal with Firefighters at Engine Company 93 and Ladder Company 45 in Manhattan and visited to the National September 11th Memorial and Museum,” according to the FDNY.
“This experience has been incredible,” Tara Schatzel said in the NBC video.
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