Brasstown If you are next to Joe Liguori anywhere and have a medical emergency, he would know exactly what to do. That’s because Liguori is a firefighter and emergency medical technician with Brasstown Volunteer Fire Department.
Liguori was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1955. He moved to Florida in 1982 and began working with the Delray Beach Fire Rescue Department. At the time, he was also working as a flight medic with Hop-A-Jet. He recalled an incident during a medical flight that was a standout moment.
In 2003, Liguori and his crew were transporting a wealthy banker from the Cayman Islands to Minnesota when the Cuban government decided it would not allow the aircraft to fly over Cuba. The patient on the flight needed to be hand-bagged and had suffered a stroke, making it a life-or-death flight. They didn’t have enough fuel to go around, and the pilots were screaming in Spanish.
Eventually, the flight was allowed to fly over Cuba, but not before the government scrambled two MiGs – one on each side of the medical aircraft. Apparently, they were not sure whether Liguori and the crew were a threat to the country.
He recalled another incident in which he received a commendation. He and an officer worked together to save the life of a man on a hotel balcony who was threatening to hurt himself. While the officer distracted the man, Liguori was able to grab the man.
Liguori retired from Delray Beach Fire Rescue as a captain/paramedic in 2014. It was then that he and his wife moved to Brasstown Heights. He thought he was retired and had left all that work behind him.
As he would pass the Brasstown Fire Department, Liguori eventually got the “bug” to get back in. With the department being shorthanded and Liguori having all the needed skills, it was a comfortable fit, and in 2016 he was back doing the very thing he had retired from.
However, while it was still full-time work, this time it was as a volunteer. “I do it for my community,” he said.
Liguori also volunteers with the Warne Volunteer Fire Department as secretary/treasurer. When several departments merged, he became a firefighter with Clay County Fire Rescue.
In 2020, he renewed his EMT license, and on May 4, he’ll graduate from Tri-County Community College with a license in advanced EMT, allowing him to respond on advanced life support trucks.
Liguori is also a retired basketball referee who still referees high school volleyball. The position takes him wherever he’s needed in Georgia and North Carolina. He’s a former Division 1 official as well as a former USAV Official.
He has 200 hours logged in as a flight medic, and also has earned degrees in biology, emergency management and fire science engineering.
As if that wasn’t enough to keep him busy, Liguori also volunteers with Project Chimps in Morganton, Ga., which rescues and cares for chimps that were rescued from medical research labs in Louisiana. He helps with facility maintenance and special events.
Liguori also is a member of the security and medical team at Catalyst Church in Hayesville.
When asked what happened to retirement, he said, “My wife and I both decided we were not going to be rocking-chair retirees.”
He and Sue have been married for 23 years and have three grown children.