Tragedy has hit the Detroit Fire Department twice in less than 24 hours.
On Thursday, Sgt. Vince Smith, 49, was found dead in a recliner in the fire station. His bible and glasses sat on a nearby table.
Friday afternoon, Capt. Walter Szelag collapsed with an apparent heart attack while working on a fire boat.
The following transmission about the fire boat incident was captured by a news blogger:
“We need an ambulance here,” a firefighter radioed to dispatch. “It looks like I have a crew member with a heart attack.”
At 5:47 p.m., a dispatcher delivered the sad news to firefighters: “Central office regrets to inform you of the untimely death of Capt. Walter Szelag of Fire Boat 1.”
Speaking about Smith’s untimely death on Thursday, Battalion Chief Steve Kirschner told a reporter: "The vulnerability of life and the stresses of this job and the toll it takes on our bodies and on our spirit. It's difficult."
He added that his friends didn't think anything of it when he turned in early for the night Wednesday, not feeling well.
"I believe he was reading his Bible and getting his head and spirit together before bed," Kirschner said. "And I believe that's when things happened."
Autopsies will determine the causes of deaths.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
