Penfield first responders risk hundreds of stings to save man from bees

PENFIELD, N.Y. — First responders in Penfield risked their own safety to save a man who was stung by bees — getting stung hundreds of times themselves in the process.

This happened Monday morning, Sept. 4, on Harris Road, when Penfield Ambulance personnel found the man unresponsive in his backyard in a bee suit next to several bee boxes.

EMTs Ike Mulligan and Ashley Pisciotta tried to remove the man from the swarm before being overcome by thousands of bees. Mulligan was stung more than 250 times as he injected the man with an epinephrine shot.

Firefighters then arrived and used fire extinguishers on the bees so they could get the patient to the ambulance.

The man survived and has been released from the hospital.