PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia firefighters mourned the loss of one of their own in the line of duty for the third time in less than a year, saluting the body of a veteran captain as it was carried from the ruins of a three-story building that collapsed underneath him during a blaze.
At an emotional news conference late Saturday after the fire in the city's Fabric Row section was extinguished, Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers told reporters that the victim, 53-year-old Capt. Michael Goodwin, was his friend and "a ladder man. A firefighter's firefighter."
"He's the kind of guy who looked out for his folks — a big guy," Ayers said. Goodwin had been with the department for 29 years.
A colleague of the fallen firefighter, 28-year-old Andrew Godlinski, was burned on his hands while trying to rescue his comrade and is recovering, officials said.
The loss came as the Fire Department prepared to mark a year since an April 9 blaze at a warehouse that killed Capt. Robert Neary, 59, and Daniel Sweeney, 25. They also died in a collapse, which came as they inspected an adjacent building.