The Associated Press
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - A firefighting instructor died Tuesday after being badly burned during a training exercise at the state fire academy.
Robert Gallardy, 47, died Tuesday morning at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, where he was being treated for the severe burns he suffered Sunday.
An adjunct instructor at the academy, Gallardy was leading a class of firefighters who were being trained to teach others about dealing with structural blazes, Altoona Fire Chief Renny Santone said Monday.
After talking with colleagues, Gallardy, in full protective gear, had gone to the burning basement of the training facility by himself to observe students in the fire, Santone said. He was found unconscious by students more than five minutes later, and his gloves and some of his gear were singed, according to Santone.
An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday to determine the exact cause of death, Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim said in a statement on Tuesday.
State Fire Commissioner Ed Mann had said in a statement on Monday that Gallardy had burns over a large part of his body, including his face and respiratory tract. Mann asked the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to help with an investigation into the accident at academy’s training facility in Lewistown.
The federal investigators were in Lewistown on Tuesday and the probe could take months to complete, said Justin Fleming, a spokesman for Mann. It is the first fatality at the fire academy, Fleming said.
Gallardy had more than 30 years experience as a firefighter and was a fire captain in Altoona.
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On the Net:
Office of State Fire Commissioner: http://www.osfc.state.pa.us/osfc/site/default.asp