A firefighter died over the weekend just before the annual clam-eating contest kicked off on Sunday.
Captain Michael Fisher, 38, died after helping fellow firefighters prepare for a fundraising event at Island Park’s Peter’s Crum Bar, according to the Island Park Fire Department. I was caught in a moment of cessation.
The flag was lowered at the Island Park Fire Department’s half-staff for firefighters who joined the fire department in 2013.
The fire chief told News 12 that he had just installed an arch for a fundraiser and was eating lunch when Fisher went to the bathroom, came out and fell to the ground.
First responders say a doctor who was at the event was there within seconds to provide assistance along with Fisher’s fellow firefighters, but he was not saved.
“This was absolutely terrifying. “For some of the younger members, especially those who stood up with him, it was really traumatic.”
Most people who attended the fundraiser didn’t know what had happened to Fisher because it happened in the back of the restaurant just before the event started, Gorton said.
He told News 12 that they went ahead with the fundraiser because that’s what Fisher wanted.
According to Gorton, a grief counselor has come to speak to the firefighters about their loss, and plans are being made for Fisher’s funeral.