Retired New York City firefighter Carmelo Mercado, who helped save lives after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, has won $5 million on a lottery scratch-off ticket.
The 63-year-old was presented with an oversized check on Thursday, which will amount to $3.3 million after taxes.
Mercado was a member of the Queens Battalion 49, which traveled to the World Trade Center moments after the second twin tower collapsed, according to NBC New York. He spent an additional two days there while assisting in search efforts.
He said at a news conference that he was at a Queens store in May when he chose to try out the Cash X100 game.
His first attempt resulted in nothing, he said. But, he bought another, and scored a winning ticket.
"I said, 'Holy mackerel, that looks like $5 million,'" Mercado said, according to CNN. "My mind went blank. I was in shock."
He then went on to list his ideas for using the money. He wants to buy his daughter roughly 10 American Girl dolls, take a cruise and possibly buy a vacation home near Disney.
"We go as a family every year, and it will be nice not to have to rent anymore," Mercado said, according to the Associated Press.
Mercado also said the lottery earnings will help with potential medical expenses.
The 27-year veteran of the New York Fire Department retired in 2004 after doctors told him he had developed a lung ailment from responding to Ground Zero. A native of Queens, he now lives in Harriman, Orange County.