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FDNY medics, EMTs suspended for intoxication while on-duty at retirement party

Two paramedics and two EMTs were allegedly drunk during a retirement party at their Bronx station

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Photo/Kevin.B via Wikimedia Commons

By Bill Carey
EMS1/FireRescue1

NEW YORK — A retirement celebration held at an FDNY EMS station in the Bronx ended with two paramedics and two EMTs being suspended due to allegations of being intoxicated while on duty. 

The incident occurred during an unsanctioned party on Oct. 30 at EMS Station 20, located inside Jacobi Hospital in Morris Park, the New York Post reported.

The event was organized to bid farewell to Lieutenant Christopher Attanasio, who had served the department for 28 years. Sources told the New York Post that things escalated when EMS Deputy Chief Michael Vetack arrived with beer.

“This is not uncommon, but they got caught,” a veteran paramedic said. 

Someone called and complained about the party to the FDNY’s Bureau of Investigation and Trials. The FDNY confirmed the four suspensions but declined to say if Vetack was disciplined.

The department said the incident remains under investigation and that EMS response from the station was not hampered.