Recent Firefighter Fatalities
To date, 76 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2011 as a result of incidents that occurred so far in 2011. Please note, running totals of firefighter fatalities used on these initial notices do not necessarily reflect the number of firefighter fatalities used in totals for the (provisional) monthly year-to-date USFA firefighter fatality reports, or year-end (provisional) reports that are posted on the USFA website.
Firefighter fatalities in USFA reports are summarized by date/year-of-incident.
Initial notices of Firefighter On-Duty Deaths are posted online at the USFA website and may be viewed by clicking here.
and distributed via USFA listserve do not represent the final "on-duty" firefighter fatality determination by USFA for such reports, nor Line-of-Duty-Death (LODD) determination made by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation http://www.FireHero.org for names added each subsequent year to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, MD, they are the beginning of a research process for each firefighter fatality reported so that such determinations can be made.
Name: Harold Gregory Gibson
Rank: Firefighter III
Age: 53
Gender: Male
Status: Career
Years of Service: 12
Date of Incident: 06/19/1993
Time of Incident: Pending
Date of Death: 07/02/2011
Fire Department: Fulton County Fire Rescue
Address: 5440 Fulton Industrial BLVD SW, Atlanta, GA 30336
Fire Department Chief: Larry Few
Incident Description: Firefighter Gibson contracted Hepatitis C after coming in contact with blood while treating a patient injured in a traffic accident in 1993. Due to medical complications related to Hepatitis, Firefighter Gibson left the fire department in 1998 and passed away in July, 2011.
Incident Location: Pending
Funeral Arrangements: July, 2011
Memorial Fund Contact and Address: Pending
Name: Andrew “Andy” K. Boyt
Rank: Lieutenant
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Status: Career
Years of Service: 20
Date of Incident: 10/03/2011
Time of Incident: 1545hrs
Date of Death: 10/03/2011
Fire Department: Cape May Fire Department
Address: 643 Washington ST, Cape May, NJ 08204
Fire Department Chief: Jerome “Jerry” Inderwies, Jr.
Incident Description: A few hours after working a twenty-four hour shift, Lieutenant Boyt’s personal vehicle was observed parked on the side of a local road. Boyt was inside of the vehicle, slumped over the steering wheel.
Police, EMS and medics responded, found Boyt unresponsive and started CPR. He was immediately transported to Cape Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. Lieutenant Boyt had responded to fire calls within twenty-four hours prior to his passing. The cause of his death is still under investigation.
Incident Location: Pending
Funeral Arrangements: Viewing 10/07/2011, 1800-2100hrs; Funeral 10/08/2011, 1130hrs at Lower Cape May Regional Performing Arts Center, 687 Route 9, Cape May, NJ 08204. http://www.spilkerfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Andy-Boyt/
Memorial Fund Contact and Address: Pending
Name: Vince Cruz
Rank: Firefighter II
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Status: Career
Years of Service: 19
Date of Incident: 09/28/2011
Time of Incident: 0600hrs
Date of Death: 09/29/2011
Fire Department: Guahan (Guam) Fire Department
Address: PO Box 2950, Hagatna, GU 96932
Fire Department Chief: Joey C. San Nicolas
Incident Description: Firefighter Cruz passed away while onduty from a cause still to be determined. Cruz, posthumously promoted to Fire Lieutenant, was reported by authorities to have responded to a number of emergency calls the fire department answered the previous night.
Incident Location: Pending
Funeral Arrangements: Pending
Memorial Fund Contact and Address: Pending
Name: Keith Gregory Rankin
Rank: Lieutenant
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Status: Volunteer
Years of Service: 20
Date of Incident: 09/25/2011
Time of Incident: 09/25/2011
Date of Death: 1035hrs
Fire Department: Lancaster Township Fire Department
Address: PO Box 210, Bausman, PA 17504-0210
Fire Department Chief: Ron Comfort, Jr.
Incident Description: Lieutenant Rankin suffered a medical emergency and collapsed while coordinating a live burn training exercise at Lancaster County Fire School. Several of the 25 county firefighters on hand for the exercise performed CPR and other life-saving measures, but Rankin never regained consciousness.
Incident Location: Lancaster County Fire School, Village Road and Lampeter Road.
Funeral Arrangements: Pending
Memorial Fund Contact and Address: Pending
Name: George W. Fisher III
Rank: Captain
Age: 57
Gender: Male
Status: Volunteer
Years of Service: 23
Date of Incident: 09/22/2011
Time of Incident: Pending
Date of Death: 09/22/2011
Fire Department: Sandy Bottom Volunteer Fire and Rescue
Address: 2178 Green Haynes Road, Kinston, NC 28504
Fire Department Chief: James L. Goff, Jr.
Incident Description: While getting a vehicle serviced, Captain Fisher collapsed from a cause still to be determined and was transported to the hospital where he passed away a short time later. Captain Fisher responded to two fire department calls within the preceding twenty-four hours.
Incident Location: 2384 Highway 258 North, Kinston, NC 28504
Funeral Arrangements: Pending
