NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A 38-year-old volunteer firefighter on Long Island died after going into cardiac arrest during a Sunday gathering, Newsday reported.
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The veteran Island Park Fire Department volunteer, Michael Fischer, had just participated in a morning training event before riding on a company engine to Peter’s Clam Bar on Long Beach Road for an annual clam-eating contest.
The event was a fundraiser for the family of an Oceanside Fire Commissioner, Michael Graham, whose seven-month-old son Cooper was diagnosed with cancer in May.
According to former Island Park Fire Department Chief Anthony D’Esposito, Fischer went to the bathroom to wash up and then suffered an apparent heart attack when he returned to the dining area.
D’Esposito added that fire department and police medics worked for about 25 minutes to try and revive Fischer but were unable to regain his pulse.
“He was in the best place he could be, surrounded by us, but in the end there was nothing anyone could do,” D’Esposito told Newsday.
The Nassau County Medical Examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine Fischer’s cause of death. Fischer had no known heart issues.
A grief counselor is available for the department members, D’Esposito said.
Fischer began his duties as a volunteer firefighter on Feb. 25, 2013 and served as a lieutenant from April 2018 to 2019 and as a captain from April 2019 to 2020.
"He died so young," D'Esposito said. "For some of the young members, it's the first friend who has died. When it happens so sudden, in front of your face, it's ... it's just scary."
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