Firefighter Is a True Survivor

By Tom Deignan

The rest of America now knows just what it takes to be a New York City firefighter.

Earlier this week, Queens native Tom Westman, a lieutenant with Ladder Co. 108 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, became a million dollar man by winning the latest Survivor challenge on CBS.

Millions watched as Westman, a graduate of Archbishop Molloy High School and a member of the FDNY’s Emerald Society, outmaneuvered all of his opponents to capture the big prize.

Talking about his winnings for the first time, Westman couldn’t help keeping it in the family. All he talked about were the guys from his firehouse, his wife, their home and his three kids.

Though Westman returned to work months ago, he could not reveal how he did on the show until the final Survivor episode aired.

Westman and almost 20 other Survivor contestants trekked to Pulau, an isolated island in the South Pacific.

This tropical paradise has been called the eighth natural wonder of the world and according to the show, there is “colorful wildlife, dense jungles and an underwater world beyond belief.”

For Westman, though, Pulau was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

For this challenge, Westman had to spend lots of time away from not just his firehouse, but also his family, whose names, to say the least, reveal his heavily Irish background.

He has three children with his wife Bernadette. The children’s names are Meghan, eight, Declan, six, and Conor, four. The family even has a golden retriever named Guinness. (Apparently they could not get their hands on an Irish Setter.)

“It’s a great moment,” said Westman, who turned 41 in January. Then he joked to the Daily News, “My wife should be here so I can just pass (the check) over.”

But Westman, who now resides in Sayville, Long Island, also admitted it was his wife who figured he’d be a natural for the show.

“She said the game was tailor-made for me. How could I not take a stab at it?”

Westman said he planned to use the million bucks to fix up his home. Will he retire? Don’t bet on it.

“Oh yeah, I’m going back,” Westman was quoted as saying, when asked if he would be staying on the job with the FDNY.

Each and every round of episodes, Survivor puts its participants through a series of grueling physical as well as mental challenges. One could argue that’s pretty much what any New York City firefighter goes through on a regular basis.

Indeed, Westman seemed particularly fit for this challenge. When not fighting fires and watching his young children, Westman has said that he enjoys demanding activities such as sailing, skiing, scuba diving, golfing and cooking.

According to his show biography, Westman is most happy spending time with his family and friends. He describes himself as gregarious, practical and competitive.

He is most proud of his department’s response to the rescue efforts of September 11, 2001, “and the everyday efforts to help alleviate the suffering in New York City.”

Westman has also revealed that his parenting skills have called for duties above and beyond the normal challenges of raising a family. He says that his hero is his daughter, Meghan, who lost her hearing to meningitis at 18 months old and, after receiving a cochlear implant at two years old, is currently mainstreamed and thriving in the third grade.

Fittingly, Westman is also a member of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Westman studied history for three years at the State University of New York in Binghamton. Then, in 1985, Westman followed his father’s footsteps and joined the fire department.

Westman, however, is apparently not one to start something and then leave it incomplete. Aside from his commitments to work and family, he is also finishing up his undergraduate degree in history at Queens College, of the City University of New York.

At least he won’t have trouble paying the tuition now.

(Contact Sidewalks at tomdeignan@earthlink.net.)