FDNY, city honor 14 Bravest lost in the last year

Family, friends, city officials and thousands of FDNY members gathered at the Firemen's Memorial on Manhattan’s Riverside Drive Oct. 9 to commemorate and honor the 14 members of the department lost in the last year, among them two who died in the line of duty. 

Among those honored were EMT Frederick D. Whiteside and Supervising Fire Marshal George E. Snyder Jr., both of whom died on duty. Whiteside and Snyder had joined the department within days of each other in 2002, Whiteside in April of that year and Snyder in May.

Snyder, 53, of Yonkers, suffered a cardiac episode Aug. 9 and died the next day. He began his career assigned to Engine 36 in Harlem. He was assigned to the BFI Special Operations Command, where he led the Lithium-Ion Battery Task Force. He was cited five times for meritorious acts throughout his 22-year career.

Whiteside, 43 and of Brooklyn, died Nov. 17 following cardiac arrest while working at a 911 Dispatch Center in the Bronx. He spent his career in the Bronx and in Brooklyn, working in EMS Division 2 and EMS Division 3. He had been working in EMS Dispatch since 2019.

During his commemorative address, FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker noted that the department continues to lose colleagues to the aftereffects of the September 11 terror attacks. More than 370 have died from WTC-related illnesses in the 23 years since then. 

“The members we honor today were all selfless, amazing people who gave their lives in dedication to service of our city. Their sworn oath to serve and protect guided their every day, and we know they lived as they worked with honor and dignity. Let us pay tribute to them,” Tucker said. “Let us honor them. We do that by honoring our traditions, by lining the streets in salute, by donning your uniforms and standing silently in respect for the families of the deceased. Be comforted in knowing that we do this every year in the same way with the same reverence.”