NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- An FDNY firefighter died from a “sudden medical episode” at his firehouse on Wednesday, a day after battling a house fire in Queens, officials said.
Firefighter Jesse Gerhard, 33, worked at Ladder Company 134 in Far Rockaway. He is the 1,156th member of the FDNY to die in the line of duty.
“The entire city mourns for the loss of this firefighter, a young man who dreamed of being a firefighter all of his life,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a Thursday morning press conference announcing Gerhard’s death.
Gerhard died a day after battling a two-alarm house fire Tuesday evening on Beach Channel Drive, near Hartman Lane, in Far Rockaway.
Gerhard was working at his firehouse at 11 p.m. Wednesday when he had a sudden medical episode.
“The other members heard a noise like a collapse and responded to find him unconscious,” said First Deputy Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, who is serving as interim fire commissioner after Daniel Nigro retired Wednesday.
Gerhard was rushed to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The cause of his death has yet to be determined.
“Jesse’s not coming home, and that’s the reality that the family’s facing,” Adams said after visiting the hospital.
“He had dreamed his whole life of becoming a member of the FDNY, and he had achieved that dream, responding every day to help New Yorkers in need,” Kavanagh said.
“That’s exactly what he was doing on Tuesday, when he responded to a second-alarm fire in Queens—saving New Yorkers at the risk of his own life and his fellow firefighters’ lives,” Kavanagh continued. “Those same firefighters would be there with him in his darkest hour, as they would try valiantly to revive him and bring him to the hospital, where the hospital staff would do their best, but tragically it was not meant to be.”
No other injuries have been reported in Tuesday’s fire. FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens described it as a “very hot and smoky” fire with “a lot of fire on multiple floors.”
Gerhard was part of a team that forces entry and immediately searches for victims. Hodgens called it among the “most strenuous” of all the positions firefighters work.
“He worked through the fire, he was relieved,” Hodgens said. “We really don’t know what happened at this time but we’re investigating all possibilities.”
Gerhard, who was also a volunteer firefighter in Islip, is survived by his parents and brothers.
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