By Laura French
NEW YORK — The FDNY has announced the deaths of two veteran EMTs due to COVID-19.
The department announced the death of EMT John Redd, 63, on Tuesday afternoon. Redd had served 26 years with the department and responded to the World Trade Center for rescue and recovery efforts after 9/11. Redd was an assignment receiving dispatcher at FDNY Emergency Medical Dispatch, answering 911 calls and providing pre-arrival first aid instructions to callers.
“When New Yorkers have a medical emergency they call 911 for help. EMT John Redd was the reassuring voice on the other end of that lifeline, talking to patients in need or families calling to bring badly needed care to a loved one,” FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a statement. “Thousands and thousands of times in his career, EMT Redd quite literally answered the call for help in our city. He was a vital part of our emergency medical response and all of the FDNY mourns his loss.”
Outside of work, Redd had a passion for photography, the department said. He is survived by his wife, Donna.
On Wednesday morning, the department announced the death of EMT Idris Bey, 60, also a World Trade Center rescue and recovery responder. Bey was a 27-year veteran of the department and was assigned to the FDNY EMS Bureau of Training. He worked as a CFR instructor at the FDNY Academy at Fort Totten.
Prior to joining the Bureau of Training in 2002, Bey was assigned to Station 35 in Brooklyn.
“During his extraordinary career, EMT Bey responded to countless calls for help in Brooklyn, and then took his experience and dedication to our academy, where he was responsible for the lifesaving training received by thousands of FDNY members. Every New Yorker owes him a debt of gratitude for the expert education he provided our EMTs and Firefighters,” Nigro said in a statement. “FDNY is known as the best Fire Department in the world, and our prehospital emergency medical care is second to none. Those facts are thanks to incredible people like Idris Bey, who dedicated their lives to the safety and training of our members.”
A total of eight FDNY members have died due to COVID-19. Auto Mechanic James Villecco, Deputy Chief Inspector Syed Rahman, Supervising Fire Protection Inspector Edward Mungin, EMT Gregory Hodge and Kellie Childs, the director of the cashier’s unit at the FDNY’s Bureau of Revenue Management, have also died from the virus. The department said the identity of the eighth fallen member will not be released out of respect for their family’s request for anonymity.