UPDATE @ 11:30 a.m. March 31:
City of Dayton firefighters will be among thousands who will attend fallen firefighter Daryl Gordon’s funeral Wednesday. More than 20 personnel are expected to participate, and the department is planning to send a Dayton fire engine for the procession. They’ll board a bus early tomorrow morning at Dayton’s fire training center and travel to Cincinnati.
Visitation for the fallen veteran Cincinnati firefighter is today. Daryl Gordon, 54, died after sustaining injuries while working to save residents in the King Towers apartments in Madisonville. He fell down an elevator shaft on March 26.
Gordon’s funeral is Wednesday, beginning with a procession to the church at 8:55 a.m. from Engine 14 to St. Peter in Chains Cathedral on W. 8th St. The church is reserved for only family, close friends and uniformed firefighters. Following the service, the procession to the Oak Hill Cemetery, 11200 Princeton Pike in Springdale, OH will begin at Noon. The cemetery service is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Finally, a Celebration of Life will be held at Duke Energy Center immediately following the cemetery service.
The visitation will be from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Downtown Cincinnati (525 Elm St.)
FIRST REPORT:
A 29-year veteran firefighter died “a hero” Thursday from injuries he suffered while searching for people to rescue from a burning Cincinnati apartment building, authorities said.
Daryl Gordon, 54, was removed from the building by stretcher after falling down an elevator shaft and died at a hospital, officials said.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the death of one of our city’s protectors,” Mayor John Cranley said at a news conference. “He put himself in harm’s way to help residents in the building.”
Flags were lowered to half-staff across the city, and fire-rescue workers put black strips over their badges.
“We lost a hero today, and we are all mourning,” fire Chief Richard Braun said, adding that “we lost a family member.” Braun had gone to the scene early Thursday and asked for the community’s prayers for a firefighter who was hurt and “in dire straits.”
The Fire Department report stated that the blaze was first reported at 5:31 a.m. in the five-story building. Two firefighters were treated for burns at a hospital and released, and four civilians were taken there as well. There were no details on their injuries; authorities had said earlier that several residents were treated for smoke inhalation.
“Women and children were carried out of the building to safety,” Cranley said. “When that was over, God delivered all of the civilians to us but kept one of our firefighters back. We know God is holding him tightly.”
State and local authorities were investigating the fire’s cause. Braun said department policies and procedures will be reviewed to try to learn from the death.
The owner of the apartments said some 68 families lived there and its management was working with the American Red Cross and Salvation Army for emergency housing and supplies. Owner Community Builders Inc. said there were no known safety citations in the past year at the property.
Cincinnati authorities said it was the first firefighter death in the line of duty since 2003 for the department that calls itself the first professional, fully paid fire department in the United States, dating to 1853.
The firefighters’ local union president described Gordon as “a giant teddy bear” with a big smile and laugh who was dedicated and heroic.
“As good as it gets,” Matt Alter said. “He was a firefighter through and through.”
City officials said Gordon, a fire apparatus operator who joined Cincinnati Fire on June 30, 1985, also was a 10-year employee of UC Health Air Care and Mobile Care. He was married with two daughters.
A city spokesman said Gordon became eligible for retirement in 2010.