The on-duty EMT who was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack in Queens Thursday was a 24-year veteran of the FDNY who planned to retire in just six months.
Lt. Alison Russo-Elling, who was attacked less than a block away from her station house, “dedicated her life to saving others” and early on in her career she responded to Ground Zero after the 9/11 terror attacks, her shocked colleagues said.
“She was about six or seven months away from retirement,” Vincent Variale, president of Local 3621, said at a Thursday press conference. “She was talking about it.”
Variale said Russo-Elling, who worked out of Station 49 in Astoria and lived on Long Island, wanted to retire after she turned 62 in order to spend more time with her daughter and grandchildren.
Russo-Elling joined the FDNY as an EMT in March 1998 and was promoted to a paramedic in 2002 before becoming a lieutenant in 2016. She worked out of numerous EMS stations through her career, including Station 20, Station 17, Station 16, Station 45, Queens Tactical Response Group and Station 49.
On Sept. 11, 2011, Russo-Elling responded to the World Trade Center and aided the rescue and recovery efforts of victims.
“Alison was the sweetest, kindest person you’ve ever met,” Variale said, adding that they spoke just last week. “She was also very brave.”
A former colleague who graduated with Russo-Elling in 1996 and had worked alongside her in Queens said her death was “heartbreaking.”
“Its sad. It’s a terrible loss,” said Capt. Mike Daddona of EMS Station 58 in Canarsie. “It’s not the way to go, not for her. She was part of 9/11.”
He described her as someone who deeply cared about all the people she served as well as her fellow EMTs.
“We grew up together on the job,” Daddona said. “I call it growing up on the job — you come in as babies and you develop up.”
He said she would call everyone “cookie” and was always smiling.
“She always greeted you with a smile. No matter what was going on, she had a smile.”
Daddona said anything can happen on the job, including dealing with violent people.
“The problem is we never know when it’s going to happen,” he said. “It could be anytime, anywhere. This is a prime example of that. It’s part of our job.”
Variale said EMS lieutenants like Russo-Elling do not have partners and work alone, putting them at higher risk than other first-responders.
Russo-Elling had gone to grab food when she was stabbed in what authorities said was a random and completely unprovoked attack.
“She was alone… maybe if she had a partner who saw this guy coming this could have been avoided,” he said.
He said the union has been pushing to have aides assigned to lieutenants for a long time to no avail.
“Our job is a very dangerous job. It’s as dangerous as fire and police. We’re assaulted just as much,” Variale said. “We lose a lot of members unfortunately, and we are not treated the same.”
Police took Russo-Elling’s alleged killer into custody at his nearby home, where he fled to after the attack. No charges have been announced.
