FDNY Firefighter, 33, Who Died Suddenly After Battling Blaze to Be Mourned at Funeral

Friends and loved ones will get to say their final goodbyes to a New York City firefighter who collapsed in his firehouse a day after battling a blaze in Queens.

The funeral for 33-year-old firefighter Jesse B. Gerhard will be held at noon Wednesday at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church in Bay Shore. It comes a day after the seven-year department veteran was mourned at a wake in Islip, his hometown.

Gerhard died Feb. 16 after responding to a two-alarm fire in Queens the day before, acting FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said. He had been working out of a firehouse in Far Rockaway when he suddenly collapsed. He later died at a hospital.

Despite earlier reports he’d suffered a heart attack, Kavanagh said Gerhard’s cause of death has not yet been confirmed.

The New York City medical examiner’s office told Newsday an initial examination of Gerhard has been conducted but didn’t say whether there were any preliminary findings. It’s expected to be a few weeks before the full autopsy is completed.

Gerhard, a former EMT, was first appointed a probationary firefighter in Dec. 2017. He became the 1,156th FDNY member to die on duty. The Long Beach resident is survived by his parents, his brother and his sister-in-law.

FDNY officials said he continued to save lives even after his death as an organ donor.

According to the department, last week’s fire in the three-story house was brought under control in about two hours, with minor injuries reported to four people.

Firefighter Jesse B. Gerhard died of a heart attack after responding to a blaze on Tuesday.

Gerhard had been tasked with forcing open doors to gain entrance to the structure and any interior search areas.

The FDNY’s medical office, in conjunction with a board of municipal doctors, will examine the circumstances leading to Gerhard’s death and the nature of the fire he was fighting, to determine if the death will be considered in the line of duty, Barry Salzman, an attorney whose firm represents the families of dead police officers and firefighters, told Newsday.

A formal determination that the death was in the line of duty unlocks greater monetary and health benefits for a firefighter’s family. A team of specialists and lawyers also reviews a firefighter’s death to determine whether the family is eligible to receive a one-time federal death benefit, the newspaper reported.

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