Earl "Rocky" Devereaux, 59, died today, two days after assisting at a Geddes fire.
Firefighters battle a fire Saturday at 363 Lakeside Road in Geddes. A former Lakeside firefighter, who suffered a heart attack while helping out at the fire, died today.Geddes, NY -- A former Lakeside firefighter died around noon today after suffering a heart attack while helping at the scene of a neighbor's fire Saturday.
Earl "Rocky" Devereaux, 59, died at 11:58 a.m. at St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center, said Lakeside Fire Chief Timothy Wolsey.
Devereaux, who had been a firefighter for 15 years, collapsed during the fire at 363 Lakeside Road.
Devereaux had responded to the scene after smelling heavy smoke from his garage down the street, Wolsey said.
When the first fire engine arrived, he helped hook the hose up to a fire hydrant, about 150 feet away, Wolsey said. Then he watched the fire from the street.
Within a minute, Devereaux collapsed on the front lawn. Firefighters on the second engine saw him fall and provided CPR, Wolsey said.
They tried to restart his heart three times -- once on the ground and twice more in the ambulance, Wolsey said. Devereaux was eventually revived, but arrived at the hospital in critical condition.
Homeowner Janet Klock said she first met Devereaux, who lived five houses away, while buying baby furniture during his garage sale this summer.
"I feel so terrible about it," Klock said. There's a personal connection: Devereaux was a close friend of the boyfriend of Klock's daughter, she said.
Klock discovered the fire while doing laundry. She grabbed her two grandchildren, ages 2 and 5, and escaped. Her two sons, ages 20 and 26, also escaped without injury.
The 1940 house had a wooden addition in the rear that was destroyed by the fire. The front of the house, built with block, was gutted by the blaze, which took 40 minutes to extinguish.
Devereaux, who retired from New Process Gear, in DeWitt, had helped out at fire scenes in the past after leaving the department, said Wolsey, who is Devereaux's nephew.
In the winter, Devereaux would shovel around fire hydrants on his street, Wolsey said.
"Anybody who knows Rocky Devereaux knows that this is in his demeanor," the chief said. "He loved the fire service."