Metro

Veteran FDNY EMT suffers fatal heart attack on duty in the Bronx: officials

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Published Nov. 17, 2023, 11:22 p.m. ET

A veteran FDNY EMT died of a heart attack while working in the Bronx on Friday, officials announced.

Frederick Whiteside, a 43-year-old father who has been with the department for 22 years, went into cardiac arrest while on duty at a 911 dispatch center.

“This is a heartbreaking loss for New York’s Bravest, and for our entire city,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. 

“EMT Whiteside spent his career helping those in need, saving lives of New Yorkers. We join the entire Fire Department and every New Yorker in mourning his loss, and pray for EMT Whiteside, his family, and his friends,” Adams said.

Whiteside, of Brooklyn, joined FDNY in April 2002 and spent his career providing emergency care in the Bronx and in Brooklyn in EMS Divisions 2 and 3.

Frederick D. Whiteside, 43, experienced cardiac arrested while working at a dispatch center in the Bronx.
Frederick D. Whiteside, 43, experienced cardiac arrested while working at a dispatch center in the Bronx. NYC Fire Department

He had been working in dispatch, where he had been assigned, since 2019.

Whiteside is survived by his daughter, mother, and brother, city officials said.

Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh described Whiteside as a “dedicated public servant and front-line worker.”

“We are saddened by his sudden passing and join his family and friends in mourning his loss,” she said.