POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — A 21-year veteran firefighter died Monday after suffering a heart attack while trying to rescue a victim.
Poughkeepsie Journal reported that firefighter Timothy Gunther, 54, was assisting with rescue and suppression activities when he collapsed. He was transported to a hospital with shortness of breath and other symptoms that were cardiac related.
While at the hospital, his condition worsened, he underwent surgery and was taken off life support Tuesday morning, according to the report.
Gunther started at the Poughkeepsie Fire Department in 1994 and is their first line of duty death since 1971. Before becoming a firefighter, he was an English teacher.
He was part of a team of firefighters given an award in 2011 for helping with a Hudson River rescue, according to the report. He was also a 2008 General Salute to Heroes Award winner for “making a difference in keeping patients alive before and after advanced life support.”
“It is all too often that we hear the distinctive sirens of responding fire companies ... and dismiss them as simply an annoyance,” said City Mayor John Tkazyik. “When each and every time the brave firefighters leave the station, they risk their lives.”
A man was found upstairs in a closet at the scene of the fire and died of smoke inhalation. Two other firefighters sustained injuries in the fire, but were later treated and released.