Honorees

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Year Honored
2014
Honoree
Clyde Sealey
Title
Paramedic
Agency
Fire Department of New York - Bureau of EMS
Agency City
Brooklyn
Agency State
New York
Last Call
4/21/2009
Cause of Death
9/11 Illness
Biography
Clyde was a man who had a passion for life, family, religion, and saving lives. Paramedic Sealy had lived in Brooklyn and watched a small volunteer ambulance corps form in his neighborhood. He was inspired by the work that he had seen the Bedford Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps provide. He became an EMT, and after a few years he furthered his EMS education and became a paramedic. In 1993, he joined New York City Emergency Medical Services and realized that this was what he loved. After years of service to his community, he saw that an EMT program was an opportunity to get people on the right track and help the youth in his neighborhood, so he founded the Sealey's Training Institute to provide free EMT training. He soon came to realize that it was difficult for some students to pay for their books. He then founded STI Empowerment Fund, a non-profit organization that would be able to cover the cost of program materials for eligible students. Clyde trained many EMTs, paramedics, and lifeguards. Some have moved on to become doctors or nurses. He also trained many people in CPR. On the morning of September 11, 2001, Clyde responded to the attack on the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. Like many of his colleagues he worked many long hours during the rescue and recovery efforts. As many of the rescuers who were on "the pile" have fell victim to illness, Clyde developed a rare form of cancer attributed to his exposure to toxins at the site. He succumbed to his illness on April 21, 2009.