Yamel Merino, an EMT working for MetroCare Ambulance, was killed in the collapse of the south tower of the World Trade Center on Tuesday, Sepember 11, 2001. Merino had been on one of the first ambulances responding to the plane crash in the north tower.

One of her colleagues described her as dedicated to her friends and family. "She had such a big heart," Joe Penna told a rporter. "She gave more of herself than anything."

Merino, who was 25, leaves an eight-year-old son, Kevin Villa.

For a memorial profile of Merino and other victims of the 9/11 attacks, and a guestbook of friends' reminiscences, see www.nytimes.com/portraits.