BURN SURVIVOR ‘JOINS’ FDNY:
FDNY tribute to survivor of ‘prank’ scalding
THE FDNY has a new hero in its ranks.
Jamoneisha (Jamoni) Merritt was all smiles when she was sworn in as an honorary firefighter at FDNY headquarters in Brooklyn on Thursday.
The 11-year-old suffered burns on 85% of her face when she was scalded with hot water in a prank gone wrong during a summer sleepover.
“Thank you to the firefighters and the commissioner for making me a firefighter,” a shy Jamoneisha said at the podium. “Thank you everybody.”
Her proud mom, Ebony Merritt, was beaming as her daughter spoke. “God is good. That’s all I am going to say,” Merritt said. “She made it. She’s alive. She’s full of spirit. We are going to take it one day at a time. All the firefighters came through.”
Merritt said the city’s Bravest have been a constant presence in her daughter’s life since the tragedy. They have given her gifts and attended parades with her. “It’s been a big part of her recovery. There are people all over the world still reaching out to her,” she said. “We are just very thankful.”
FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro praised Jamoneisha as a true hero. “She is a strong and brave girl,” he said. “You can see in the audience here how many FDNY members care about you, and hope to see you fully recover and go on to live your dreams and accomplish everything you want to as you get older.
“Jamoneisha, you’re joining a very large family this morning — when you recite this oath, you’re going to suddenly find yourself with about 16,000 big brothers and sisters,” Nigro said.
The girl recited the oath to applause from firefighters who filled the room.
Jamoneisha said she was overwhelmed by the attention and camera flashes.
“Listen, Beyoncé goes through this, too,” joked Firefighter Regina Wilson, head of the FDNY Vulcan Society.
“We want her to be part of our family. We just wanted to do something special for her. I think that she is doing amazing. From the time that we saw her in hospital until now, she’s done an amazing turnaround. The spirit that she has, it’s what drew us to her.”
Wilson added, “When she was in the hospital her face was disfigured by the burns, but her spirit, her tenacity, her bravery through all of this shined.”
Jamoneisha was sleeping over at a friend’s house in the Bronx when a pal threw boiling water on her on Aug. 7.
The prank gone bad resembled the “Hot Water Challenge,” a YouTube-inspired trend in which kids poured hot water on unsuspecting friends.
Aniya Grant Stuart, 12, the girl who allegedly doused Jamoneisha, was taken into custody after the incident, sources said. Her assault case is being handled in Family Court.