Trending Topics

Pittsburgh battalion chief suffers fatal medical emergency while commanding fireground

Battalion Chief John Walsh died at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital after being stricken while working as the incident commander during a house fire

By Bill Carey
FireRescue1

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire Battalion Chief John Walsh died following a medical emergency while working as the incident commander during a house fire in the city’s East Hills neighborhood.

The Pittsburgh Firefighters Union announced that Walsh, 60, who was working as Battalion Chief 3 based in Station 8, died after being transported to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital on Nov. 20, CBS Pittsburgh reported.

“His unwavering passion for the job, his courageous service, and his remarkable leadership over 37 dedicated years will never be forgotten,” the union wrote in a social media post. “Chief Walsh embodied the very best of what it means to serve and protect.”

A procession led Walsh’s body from the hospital to the medical examiner’s office. He had been a member for 37 years.

Trending
Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson and Sydney Watson were conducting initial attack operations on the Knowles Fire when rapidly spreading flames cut off their escape routes
A day after three firefighters were killed in a burnover, hot, dry and windy conditions continued fueling dangerous wildfire growth across the West
The burnover that killed three firefighters on the Colorado-Utah border is the deadliest U.S. wildfire incident since the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire, where 19 firefighters lost their lives in Arizona
A year after two battalion chiefs were killed in an ambush on Canfield Mountain, firefighters, families and the community gathered to honor their lives