Firefighter Jesse Gerhard, 33, collapses and dies 2 days after battling Queens house fire

NEW YORK -- Firefighter Jesse Gerhard died Thursday morning after battling a house fire earlier this week in Queens.

The FDNY said Gerhard responded to a fire Tuesday afternoon at a home on Beach Channel Drive in Far Rockaway. He suffered a medical episode and collapsed at the Ladder 134 fire house at around 11 p.m. on Wednesday.

"The other members heard a noise like a collapse and responded to find him unconscious. Despite the valiant efforts of both our members and the hospital staff, he was pronounced," Acting FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said.

A procession of fire trucks and police cruisers carried Gerhard's body to the medical examiner's office on Thursday morning. Mayor Eric Adams ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff in remembrance of the 33-year-old, CBS2's Natalie Duddridge reported.

Gerhard's father said his son, a seven-year veteran of the force, wanted to be a firefighter since the age of 2. He also served three years as an EMT. There was never a Plan B.

"His great-grandfather was a captain in Queens. Once he saw his helmet, that's all he wanted," Bruce Gerhard said.

"He is exactly what we would want an FDNY member to be," Kavanagh said. "He had dreamed his whole life of becoming a member of the FDNY and he had achieved that dream, responding every day to help New Yorkers in need."

"The entire city mourns for the loss of this firefighter," Adams added.

Officials said Gerhard was assigned to the "irons" position, meaning he was the first to enter the burning building and search for victims.

"It's a very strenuous position to be in, probably the most strenuous of all the different positions that we do work in," said Chief of Department Thomas Richardson. "It was very hot and smoky fire. It was a lot of fire on multiple floors of the building."

Residents and neighbors watched Tuesday as firefighters went in to rescue people, commending their bravery.

"I feel so sad for that young man. They do what they have to do, put their life on the line," the building's superintendent said.

"I'm wondering if it was the first guy that go on the ladder to the attic. There was thick smoke," an area resident said.

Gerhard's cause of death remains under investigation.

"Our prayers are, first and foremost, with his family, his company, and his brothers and sisters in the FDNY," Kavanagh said.

The cause of death hasn't been determined, but fire officials suspect cardiac arrest. They noted Thursday that heart attacks are the leading cause of firefighter deaths nationwide.

"We investigate every firefighter death. What happened at the fire? Did he take in smoke? Did he work too hard? Did he work too long? And we try to correct anything," FDNY Chief of Safety Officer Michael Meyers said.  

A resident of Long Beach, Gerhard is survived by his parents, brother, and sister-in-law. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Gerhard is the 1,156th member of the FDNY to die in the line of duty and the first since Lt. Joseph Maiello, who died on Dec. 26, 2021.

In:
• Far Rockaway
• FDNY