Ohio firefighter dies after falling 5-stories down elevator shaft
A firefighter with three decades of service with Cincinnati’s fire department died on Thursday after falling five stories down an elevator shaft while fighting a multi-alarm apartment building blaze, officials said.
Daryl Gordon, 54, was the first Cincinnati firefighter to die in the line of duty since 2003.
“It takes a special breed of person to rush into a fire when the natural instinct is to flee,” Mayor John Cranley said in a statement.
Gordon, a fire apparatus officer, would have marked his 30th anniversary with the department in June.
“We lost a hero today, and we are all mourning,” Fire Chief Richard Braun said.