Probe continues into FDNY firefighter Jesse Gerhard's death after battling house fire
The autopsy to determine what caused the death of a 33-year-old FDNY firefighter from Long Island who collapsed in his firehouse from a "medical episode" the day after fighting a Queens blaze is "pending further study following the initial examination," the New York City medical examiner’s office said Friday.
The firefighter, Jesse Gerhard, of Islip and Long Beach, suffered the episode on Wednesday night; the blaze was Tuesday afternoon in Far Rockaway, and Gerhard had been assigned to the "irons" position — forcing open doors to gain entry to the structure and any interior search areas, the FDNY has said.
Although Gerhard was from Islip, he split his time between there and Long Beach, where he sometimes stayed with fellow firefighters. Credit: fdny
A spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office, Julie Bolcer, declined to say whether there were any preliminary findings.
"Generally it takes at least a few weeks and will depend on the type of additional information being sought, such as the results of toxicology and other post-mortem testing, or medical records," she said in an email.
Meanwhile, Gerhard’s remains were transferred Friday afternoon in a formal ceremony from the medical examiner’s office on Manhattan’s East Side to the Chapey & Sons funeral home, 200 E. Main St., East Islip.
At the ceremony, fellow firefighters saluted, and his family wept, as his body was carried into an ambulance en route to Long Island.
Gerhard's family members join FDNY firefighters in saluting as Gerhard's body is moved into an ambulance from the medical examiner's office in Manhattan on Friday. Credit: Craig Ruttle
The wake is Tuesday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m., with a firematic service at 7:30 p.m., according to an announcement shared by Assistant Chief Jared Gunst, who joined the Islip department at the same time as Gerhard. The funeral is Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church of Bay Shore, 9 N. Clinton Ave.
Gerhard had responded to the fire at 4:05 p.m. Tuesday; it was brought under control by 5:49 p.m., according to a department news release. The medical episode happened just before 11 p.m. Wednesday at Ladder Company 134 in Far Rockaway. He was then transported to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, where he died.
Although Gerhard was from Islip, he split his time between there and Long Beach, where he sometimes stayed with fellow firefighters.
He had joined the FDNY as a probationary firefighter in 2017 after working as an emergency medical technician since 2014. He had also been a volunteer with the Islip Fire Department since 2009.
Firefighters from the Islip Fire Department embrace after Gerhard's body was brought to Chapey & Sons funeral home in East Islip on Friday. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
The FDNY’s Bureau of Health Services, which is the department’s medical office, in conjunction with a board comprised of municipal doctors, will examine the circumstances of the death, as well as his activities leading up to the death and the nature of the fire he was fighting the day before, to determine whether the death will be deemed line-of-duty, said Barry Salzman, a partner with the law firm Barasch & McGarry of Manhattan, which represents injured cops and firefighters and their families when they die.
"Whether it’s related to the fire the day before is subject to evaluation," Salzman said.
A formal determination that the death was in the line of duty unlocks greater monetary and health benefits for a firefighter's family.
The FDNY, which in its news release Thursday called Gerhard the 1,156th in the department to die in the line of duty, did not respond to a message Friday seeking comment.
Greg Robinson, a resource specialist with the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program, a unit of the U.S. Department of Justice, said that a team involving specialists and lawyers also reviews an application for a line-of-duty declaration, factoring in circumstances of a firefighter’s death to formally issue a ruling, which determines whether the federal government will award the family a one-time death benefit.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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