FDNY Holds Plaque Dedication Ceremony for EMT Frederick D. Whiteside

On Saturday, November 23rd, the FDNY Foundation joined the FDNY for a plaque dedication ceremony at PSAC II in the Bronx for FDNY EMT Frederick D. Whiteside.

EMT Whiteside was working on Friday, November 17, 2023 in Emergency Medical Dispatch when he experienced a cardiac arrest.

The FDNY Foundation joins the FDNY in remembering EMT Whiteside. We remember and honor him for his 22 years of service, commitment, sacrifice, and dedication to the FDNY and the City of New York. EMT Whiteside will never be forgotten.

“We gather to salute a man who loved working for the FDNY and joined the Department just seven months after September 11. For 18 years, Frederick delivered emergency medical care to needy New Yorkers in the Bronx and in Brooklyn. He was a skilled EMT, and was especially adept in connecting with his patients, providing them comfort and calm. This made him a natural for his next job in communications in January of 2019. With skills he honed by doing the job himself, he knew how to speak with patients and with the EMTS he was dispatching. He was a mentor to many, offering his lessons on the ins and outs of emergency dispatch with ease,” said Fire Commissioner Robert S. Tucker.

Chief of Department John Esposito said: “Frederick Whiteside was a dedicated and compassionate EMT—both on the streets and on the radio. He had the skills we look for in all members: empathy, compassion, bravery and selflessness. He was a great mentor to the next generation of our medical professionals and made sure he passed down his knowledge and experience to others.”

EMT Whiteside joined the FDNY on April 19, 2002. He spent his career in Brooklyn and the Bronx, working in EMS Divisions 2 and 3 before moving to EMS dispatch in 2019.

He was the 1,160th member of the FDNY to make the Supreme Sacrifice in the line of duty.

To view more photos from the ceremony, click HERE.