Joseph Sciammarella graduated from Lindenhurst High School in 1972. From 1973 through 1982 he was a member of the Chemical and Rescue Company Number 1 of the Lindenhurst Fire Department, rising to the rank of 1st Lieutenant.
He left the department in 1982 to attend Medical School. After completing medical school and residency he was appointed Medical Director of the Suffolk County EMS System in 1989. He rejoined the Lindenhurst Fire Department, serving from 1989 – 1994 as Department Physician and as a member of the Rescue Company, again rising to the rank of 1st Lieutenant.
Following the attacks on the World Trade Center, in 2004, at the age of 50, Dr. Sciammarella was sworn into the U.S. Army Reserve as a Major in the Medical Corps. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2006 and in 2009 he was deployed to Iraq. He was honorably discharged in 2014 at the age of 60, having reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Colonel Sciammarella has practiced Emergency Medicine for over 30 years, and currently resides in Niagara Falls, NY with his wife Anne Kurtis.