Pittsburgh Firefighter Lee Weber Drowns While On Family Vacation In Ohio

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire lost one of their own on Saturday.

Pittsburgh firefighter Lee Weber drowned in Lake Erie while on a family vacation in Conneaut, Ohio.

Weber worked out of Engine Station 20 in the city's Hays neighborhood.

"We announce the untimely death of active firefighter Lee Weber assigned to engine company number 20," was heard through scanners on Sunday. "Please remember the Weber family in your thoughts and prayers in this most difficult time."

Weber's family said, "Lee Weber was on a family outing in Conneaut, Ohio when he got caught along a breakwall and went under the water. He was 38 years old, an army veteran, and a city of Pittsburgh firefighter."

A family member wrote that he drowned while "bravely getting his son to safety."

On Saturday afternoon, rescue crews from Ohio and Pennsylvania and the U.S. Coast Guard did an aggressive search of Lake Erie from the sky and on the water.

Conneaut Fire Department's Assistant Chief Steve Sanford said they were called out for a possible drowning around 1 pm. He said in less than an hour, a coast guard helicopter, which flew in from Detroit, spotted Weber 200 yards from where he was last seen.

Sanford said the location where Weber got caught in the water is a problem area of the lake.

The community is showing their support, as Weber's family and fellow firefighters are grieving his unexpected death.

Donations are rolling in fast on a GoFundMe page that was created to raise money for Weber's wife and their two sons. Sunday night, there was about $30,000 in donations.

A family member said Weber's organs were donated which could save dozens of lives.

Funeral arrangements are still being made.