QUEENS, N.Y. — An FDNY firefighter suffered a medical episode and died a day after he and other first responders battled a blaze at a home in Queens, authorities said Thursday. 

Firefighter Jesse Gerhard, 33, was on duty at Ladder Company 134 in Far Rockaway just before 11 p.m. on Wednesday when he experienced a medical episode, the FDNY and Mayor Eric Adams said in a joint press release. 


What You Need To Know

  • FDNY Firefighter Jesse Gerhard, 33, died a day after he and other first responders battled a blaze at a home in Queens, authorities said.

  • Gerhard was on duty at Ladder Company 134 in Far Rockaway just before 11 p.m. on Wednesday when he experienced a medical episode, the FDNY said

  • A day earlier, at around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, he and his colleagues responded to a fire that tore through a three-story home on 25-43 Beach Channel Drive, leaving four civilians with minor injuries, the department said

  • At a news briefing Thursday morning, the mayor described Gerhard as “a young man that dreamed to be a firefighter all his life"

Gerhard's fellow firefighters "heard a noise like a collapse and responded to find him unconscious," Acting FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said at a news briefing Thursday morning. 

The seven-year FDNY veteran was taken to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the department said. His cause of death is under investigation. 

A day earlier, at around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, he and his colleagues responded to a fire that tore through a three-story home on 25-43 Beach Channel Drive, leaving four civilians with minor injuries, the FDNY said. 

At the news briefing Thursday morning, the mayor described Gerhard as “a young man that dreamed to be a firefighter all his life.” 

“The entire city mourns for the loss of this firefighter,” Adams said. “Jesse’s not coming home, and that’s the reality that the family is facing.” 

“So we’re united together in our grief. We’re united together to continue to lift up the men and women who are the first responders in this city,” he added. “We’re united together to ensure his memory lives on.” 

Gerhard was working in the “irons” position — a job that involves forcing open the door to the building that is on fire — when he responded to the blaze on Tuesday afternoon, Kavanagh said.

The firefighter is survived by his parents, his brother and his sister-in-law, the department said in its press release.

“I cannot express enough the extraordinary loss that this is for our department,” Kavanagh said. “He is exactly what we would want an FDNY member to be.” 

“Our prayers are first and foremost with his family, his company, his brothers and sisters in the FDNY and the entire department at this time,” she added.

In a statement released Thursday morning, FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Association President Andrew Ansbro said the association was "devastated over the loss of our brother, Firefighter Jesse Gerhard, who gave his life for this department and the city it protects."

"Gerhard's sacrifice embodies the true meaning of the word 'hero,' and this city will be eternally grateful," Ansbro said.

Lt. James McCarthy, the president of the FDNY Uniformed Fire Officers Association, meanwhile, said in a statement that the union "offers its sincerest condolences to the Gerhard family and every member of Ladder Company 134 in the Rockaways."

"His loss brings sadness to the hearts of this entire department," McCarthy said. "Firefighters and fire officers risk their lives every tour for the safety of all New Yorkers, and Firefighter Gerhard will be forever remembered as a true hero who laid down his life in fulfillment of the sacred oath we swear to this department and this city."