First Responders

Paramedic Bitten Amid String of Attacks on FDNY EMS Workers

March 8, 2021Joshua Skovlund
FDNY EMS paramedic Jenna Piscitello attacked and bitten

Photo courtesy of Twitter/FDNY EMS Local 5207.

New York City Fire Department Emergency Medical Services paramedic Jenna Piscitello sustained extensive injuries on her face Friday following a string of attacks on EMS workers, according to a statement from Oren Barzilay, president of the FDNY EMS Local 2507 union. More than 12 union members had been attacked in some way in the week leading up to the attack that left Piscitello with missing flesh on her face. 


At approximately 2 a.m., Piscitello and her partner were on what began as a routine call in Brooklyn, New York, and were helping their 17-year-old patient onto the stretcher for transportation to the hospital. While this was ongoing, the patient bit Piscitello’s face. 


“As I picked her up, she just wrapped her legs around me and her arms around my neck and then just bit into me, and at first, I didn’t, like, really realize what she was doing, and then there was just immense amounts of pain,” Piscitello told CBS New York. “There’s always a danger, but it just, I just, we need better protection in some way, shape or form.”


FDNY EMS paramedic Jenna Piscitello attacked and bitten
FDNY paramedic Jenna Piscitello was attacked by a patient Friday, March 5, and shows her wounded cheek before receiving stitches. Photo courtesy of Twitter/FDNY EMS Local 5207.

According to the New York Daily News, Piscitello felt the blood running down her face after her surgical mask fell off during the attack. She needed four stitches to close the wound and has an appointment with a plastic surgeon for follow-up care. The Daily News further reported that the teenager is facing a charge of felony assault. 


Despite the assault, Piscitello, who has been with the FDNY for seven years, first as an EMT and then as a paramedic, continued to treat the teenager who attacked her on the way to the hospital, displaying the EMS provider’s “patient first” mentality. Unique to the profession, EMS workers are often required to transition from fighting for their lives to treating the same person who was trying to kill them. 


According to Barzilay’s statement, members of FDNY EMS Local 2507 sustained multiple attacks over the week leading up to Piscitello’s experience, including EMS crews who had knives pulled on them, one had their nose broken, and other forms of physical attacks. 



Joshua Skovlund
Joshua Skovlund

Joshua Skovlund has covered the 75th anniversary of D-Day in France, multinational military exercises in Germany, and civil unrest during the 2020 riots in Minneapolis that followed the death of George Floyd. Born and raised in small-town South Dakota, he grew up playing football and soccer before serving as a forward observer in the US Army. After leaving the service, he earned his CrossFit Level 1 certificate and worked as a personal trainer while earning his paramedic license. He went on to work in paramedicine for more than five years, much of that time in the North Minneapolis area, before transitioning to a career in multimedia journalism. Joshua is married with two children. His creative outlets include Skovlund Photography and Concentrated Emotion, where he publishes poetry focused on his life experiences.

More from Coffee or Die Magazine
Military
The Speed Project: Vet Team To Run in Lawless, Invite-Only Ultramarathon

For the first time, a team of (mostly) US veterans and active-duty service members will run in The S...

March 23, 2023Jenna Biter
uranium-based ammo ammunition Ukraine UK depleted uranium
Intel
A Look At the Uranium-Based Ammo the UK Will Send to Ukraine

The British defense ministry on Monday confirmed it would provide Ukraine with armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium.

March 23, 2023Associated Press
Zaporizhzhia Ukraine Russia
Intel
Ukraine: Russia Hits Apartments and Dorm, Killing Civilians

“Russia is shelling the city with bestial savagery,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in a Telegr...

March 22, 2023Associated Press
cold brew coffee soda float
Coffee
The Bitter Barista's Cold Brew Coffee Soda Float

Today, we combine the best of both worlds with this indulgent recipe, smashing together our love of coffee and ice cream with a cold brew coffee soda float!

March 21, 2023Heather Lynn
abrams tanks ukraine
Intel
US Speeds Up Abrams Tank Delivery to Ukraine War Zone

The original plan was to send Ukraine 31 of the newer M1A2 Abrams, which could have taken a year or ...

March 21, 2023Associated Press
Coffee Or Die Photo
Intel
US: War Crimes on All Sides in Ethiopia's Tigray Conflict

The Biden administration announced Monday that it has determined all sides in the brutal conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

March 20, 2023Associated Press
military pilots cancer rates
Military
Higher Cancer Rates Found in Military Pilots, Ground Crews

In its yearlong study of almost 900,000 service members who flew on or worked on military aircraft b...

March 20, 2023Associated Press
whiskey pour
Military
Veterans Lead the Way Among America’s Growing Craft Distilleries

American veterans are taking the lessons they learned in the military and changing the craft distilling industry.

March 20, 2023Mac Caltrider
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Careers
Contact Us
  • Request a Correction
  • Write for Us
  • General Inquiries
© 2023 Coffee or Die Magazine. All Rights Reserved