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White Plains, NY, Deputy Fire Chief Edward Ciocca, 62, died from complications of COVID-19 on Friday, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.
Ciocca became infected with the virus March 24. He apparently was exposed while working with fellow firefighters who later tested positive for COVID-19, the USFA added.
Ciocca joined the White Plains Fire Department in May 1985, and he was promoted to lieutenant in 1991, according to his bio on the city's website. In 1999, he became deputy chief.
"Ed was a true professional, third-generation firefighter, a leader among men, and he served our city," White Plains Mayor Tom Roach told News 12.
Ciocca had planned to retire later this year.
"It's so tragic and it stuns you," Bill Ryan, Ciocca's stepfather, told News 12. "It raises all kinds of questions of why this could happen to this wonderful man. Devastating in an appropriate description."
