Oct. 28 marked National First Responders Day, established by Congress in 2017 to celebrate the nation’s emergency personnel, including firefighters, police officers, EMTs, paramedics and dispatchers, for their acts of bravery and service.

Proud Brooklyn native Leah Ray joined the FDNY in 2018 as an EMT and later became an EMS Academy instructor. She also serves in the U.S. Air Force National Guard and is currently on active military duty.

Ray told Brooklyn Paper that she initially wanted to join the NYPD or the U.S. Armed Forces, but at her mother’s urging, she attended an FDNY event in Fort Greene Park years ago. After exploring the department’s equipment, a career with New York City’s firefighters resonated with her.

“I met firefighters, [and] what they told me was, if you can start o

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