Duty Death: Daryl “Taddy” Drusch - [Howard Lake]
End of Service: 13/01/2020
By Laura French
HOWARD LAKE, Minn. — A Minnesota fire chief died early Monday morning after responding to multiple emergency calls over the weekend.
Howard Lake Fire Department Chief Daryl “Taddy” Drusch, 49, died from a suspected heart attack at his home within hours of returning from work, a family member told KARE 11.
Drusch had most recently responded to a call about a car submerged in water, according to KSTP.
A procession escorting Drusch from Minneapolis back to Howard Lake was held Tuesday afternoon with firefighters from multiple departments lining streets and overpasses to honor him.
“It is especially hard to know his own firefighters had to respond to their chief’s emergency,” said Minnesota Fire Service Foundation President Jay Wood.
“This is just really sad and hard for everyone in Howard Lake because we all knew Taddy and his family,” said Trudy Berg, a neighbor whose husband worked with Drusch as a Howard Lake firefighter. “Everyone knows everyone, and the fact he died in the line of duty trying to help others is not surprising.”
Drusch is survived by his wife Julie and their 15-year-old son Taylor.
https://www.facebook.com/HLFDMN/photos/a.587896717989162/2456719634440185/?type=3&theater