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by STEPHANIE SLEPIAN
A typical autumn afternoon boat ride was shattered last month for a Great Kills family that has spent countless hours sailing the usually calm waters of Lake George.
On Oct. 2, the McNeice family -- two brothers and a sister out to celebrate their parents' 40th wedding anniversary -- were cruising on their boat when they heard desperate screams coming from the water.
The 40-foot Ethan Allen, a popular Lake George sightseeing boat carrying senior citizens that Sunday, overturned nearby just before 3 p.m. Twenty were killed and dozens injured.
Without hesitation, Trevor McNeice, 29, and his brother, William, 37, jumped into the water and began pulling people to the surface.
For the younger McNeice, his firefighter's cold-water-rescue training took over. He assessed injuries, performed CPR and guided distraught passengers to safety.
Yesterday, the firefighter with Ladder Co. 168 in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn was honored as the Advance Firefighter of the Month.
Advance Assignment Editor James Yates presented McNeice with a $100 savings bond as thanks for his service.
And the brief ceremony in the Advance's Grasmere office was a way to pay tribute to the entire McNeice clan -- including William; sister Karen McNeice, and parents William and Joan -- all of whom did their part in helping.
While the McNeice brothers swam amid floating bodies in the gasoline-laced water, trying to pull as many as possible to safety, Karen took over the helm of her family's 21-footer, while her parents searched for extra life jackets.
They were all an integral part of this national news story, said Deputy Chief James Leonard of Division 8.
Firefighter McNeice, who is just shy of his fifth year as a member of the Bravest, said he did not even think about his actions that afternoon.
I've spent my whole life on that lake, he said. I would jump into it in the middle of winter. I would jump in anytime. I know every inch of that lake.
When Battalion Chief Michael O'Brien, commander of Brooklyn's 42nd Battalion, first heard the story of the Ethan Allen on the news, he had no idea one of his own was there.
My heart went out to these people, O'Brien said. When I came to the firehouse and heard Trevor was involved in the rescue, I was really proud of him.
While happy he was able to help that day, McNeice forever will be haunted by those he couldn't save.
[Lake George] will never be the same again, he said.
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