A veteran Brocktown firefighter died last month of injuries sustained while rescuing a woman from an apartment fire about a decade ago.
Capt. Jason Gould, 46, a fourth-generation firefighter, suffered lung damage when his mask was knocked off, The Enterprise reported.
Retired Firefighter Mark Picher said he and Gould were bringing a woman down from one of the upper floors of the Hamilton Oaks apartments during a fire when it happened.
“When his mask became dislodged from his face, he took in a pretty good amount of smoke. But he never let her go. He kept pushing through to get her out of there and got her to the outside,” Picher said. “If it wasn’t for him, I couldn’t have moved her by myself."
Gould's lungs were damaged during the rescue, but he continued to work for the department until he was forced to retire in 2023 due to his declining health.
After his retirement, Gould received two lung transplants. He unfortunately died of complications from a second procedure.
He was also a Navy veteran.
Picher worked with Gould as his former Captain for six or seven years, and remembers him as a dependable, hard-working firefighter.
Susan Nicol | News Editor
Susan Nicol is the news editor for Firehouse.com. She is a life member and active with the Brunswick Volunteer Ambulance & Rescue Company, Oxford Fire Company and Brunswick Vol. Fire Co. Susie has been an EMT in Maryland since 1976. Susie is vice-president of the Frederick County Fire/Rescue Museum. She is on the executive committee of Frederick County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. She also is part of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) Region II EMS Council. Susie is a board member of the American Trauma Society, Maryland Division. Prior to joining the Firehouse team, she was a staff writer for The Frederick News-Post, covering fire, law enforcement, court and legislative issues.
