by SIMONE WEICHSELBAUM
Two hero firefighters saved a Queens family from the choppy waters off Breezy Point Sunday, then helped a fisherman whose finger was severed by an anchor.
Firefighters Robert Senatore, 44 and Firefighter Dean Tartaro, 41, of Brooklyn's Marine Co. 3, plucked the family to safety just two months after they were hailed for saving another family from a boat off Coney Island.
"It has been a busy day," Senatore said. "A lot of bad things happen quick." Senatore and Tartaro spent most of their day watching the Palaguachi family on the Breezy Point jetty as the high tide washed away the portions of the rocky outcropping from under their feet.
Senatore told the family they would have to wait three hours before it was safe enough to leave the jetty.
But Christian Palaguachi, 15, and Iseral Gualpa, 26, ignored the firefighters' warning and tried to slosh back to shore. Christian's father ran into the water from the beach, trying to help.
"The waves were hitting them," Senatore said. "They were getting blasted."
The firefighters rushed to the scene and pulled the victims into a rescue boat.
Before the firefighters could even say goodbye to the thankful family, the call came out about saving the fisherman who lost his finger off the Coney Island shoreline.
The victim was identified as city Deputy Probation Commissioner Vincent Carrique. He was taken to Coney Island Hospital for treatment, but it was unclear if doctors were able to reattach the finger.
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