Members of the Otsego County Fire Department in Gaylord, MI, are mourning the loss of a 34-year member who collapsed after responding to a call.
Thomas Gary Walker, 70, responded to a carbon monoxide alarm emergency with his fire department early on Nov. 27.
Later that day, Walker collapsed at home, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.
He was transported to Otsego Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Visitation will be held at the Gaylord Funeral Home Thursday.
A memorial service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. on Song of the Morning Ranch in Vanderbilt, MI.
"The Otsego County Fire Department would like to THANK everyone for their kind words, prayers and thoughts during this time of loss," Assistant Chief Christopher Martin posted on the department's Facebook page.
Martin also wrote the following on Nov. 28: "As a firefighter we always expect the unexpected. Last night the Otsego County Fire Department lost one of it's own unexpectedly. Firefighter Thomas Walker passed away. It was not at a fire call it started at home and he passed away at the hospital. Tom was the type of firefighter you could ask something to be done and he would do it, no questions asked. He always came into the station during a fire call or on Tuesday night with a smile on his face. He was dependable and was always somewhere close to offer help. In my years serving on the department with Tom I never heard him raise his voice to another firefighter, officer or the public.
I could go on and on along with my fellow firefighters about Tom, there would not be a word of negativity said about him because there was none to said.
We are going to miss seeing him at the station on his daily visit just to stop in or seeing him on his computer in the radio room.
There is no doubt you will be missed."
