Family, friends, fellow EMTs and paramedics dispatchers honored the life of fallen EMT Frederick D. Whiteside at a funeral service in Brooklyn.
Whiteside suffered a fatal heart attack while on duty at the dispatch center on Nov. 17. Whiteside becomes the 1,160 member of the Fire Department to die in the line of duty.
Frederick was described as loyal and determined. Mayor Eric Adams said, “I appreciate and respect this family during this time. There is nothing you can say when a 43-year-old man who goes from the physical world. You guys are always there when people need you. Thank you. He gave every drop. He gave back. Are we going to live half full or full?”
The mayor went on to say, “The job of an EMT is the darkest, you are still trying to help people every day.”
“For 18 years, he was an experienced EMT working in Brooklyn and Bronx,” said Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh.
“He was a source of never-ending support. He was all about his daughter all the time. His catchphrase was juicy peachy. Passion for classic trucks,” said Andrew Ansbro, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association.
“He was my protector, Frederick had no problems stepping up and leading the charge for dispatchers. There is a lot of love in this room. he loved to laugh. in unity, just peachy. We have an angel that doesn’t play about us,” a representative from the union’s Bronx Company Delegates said.
Whiteside leaves behind his mother and fourteen-year-old daughter Jalen. She was presented with an EMT helmet in his honor.
