Springs' Karen Haab Named Volunteer of the Year

Second Lieutenant Karen Haab, a firefighter and advanced emergency medical technician with Springs Fire Department, has been named the emergency services volunteer of the year for the South Fork.

County Legislator Jay Schneiderman, of Montauk, chose Haab out of all the volunteers in the Second Legislative District, calling her a woman truly worthy of the honor and of the admiration and gratitude of Suffolk residents.

Haab’s department named her Firefighter of the Year in 2005 and then in 2012 she was named Springs’ Emergency Medical Service Personnel of the Year. Last month, Habb received the Firemen’s Association of New York’s EMS Provider of the Year distinction in Albany.

Her 2012 award came after the rescue she performed on an Amagansett beach while enjoying the day with her family. According to Schneiderman’s office, Haab saved the life of a 77-year-old man who broke his neck while boogie boarding. She stabilized the victim’s spine and performed CPR when he stopped breathing. “His pulse returned on route to the hospital,” Schneiderman’s office stated. “And despite the fact that he had broken his neck in two places, he went on to make a full recovery.”

In addition to her volunteer work, Haab is a single mother with a daughter in college and the owner of an East Hampton-based property management business.

“Karen selflessly gives her time, knowledge and energy into making this community a safer place to live,” the legislator’s office stated.