Here Is Lancaster Newspaper Report
A longtime Rothsville firefighter died after being stricken at a crash scene Thursday.
Fire police officer Ed Steffy, 71, was positioned at East Newport Road (Route 772) and Rothsville Road when he suffered an apparent heart attack just before 11 a.m., according to fire Chief Sam Young. He was pronounced dead at Ephrata Community Hospital. "It's been a rough day, a long day," an exhausted-sounding Young said Thursday night. "Nothing really ever prepares you for this kind of thing. Young said he was at the scene of a three-vehicle crash in the 1500 block of Newport Road when he got word of a sick person at the traffic post. He headed about a mile to the intersection, not knowing that the person in distress was one of his firefighters. "I got there and found out it was Ed and — he was slumped over at the back seat of his car," according to Young. Steffy's wife, Rosene, was there but she couldn't move him.
"He's a big guy, she couldn't get him out," Young said. Young said he and a woman — one of the persons involved in the crash — performed CPR for about three minutes before an ambulance crew arrived. Steffy was in his 49th year with the company and had previously been an emergency medical technician and the department's assistant chief, according to Young. "He was always willing to help people and … well, he was just a very nice gentleman," Young replied when asked to describe Steffy. "He was — I can't say enough," he said. "He was a good friend and will be missed." Steffy and his wife, who are both retired, have two sons, Mark and Nevin. Funeral arrangements had not been finalized Thursday night. Young said he didn't know if the family planned to hold a traditional firefighter service. Young said Rothsville Fire Company will remain in service likely until the day of the funeral. He said several area companies had offered their assistance Thursday. In his 53 years with the company, Young said, Steffy's passing is the department's only line-of-duty death he can remember.
Steffy is the second Lancaster County firefighter to die in the line of duty this year.
Lancaster Township fire Lt. Keith Rankin died after collapsing during a fire training exercise Sept. 25 in West Lampeter Township.
A longtime Rothsville firefighter died after being stricken at a crash scene Thursday.
Fire police officer Ed Steffy, 71, was positioned at East Newport Road (Route 772) and Rothsville Road when he suffered an apparent heart attack just before 11 a.m., according to fire Chief Sam Young. He was pronounced dead at Ephrata Community Hospital. "It's been a rough day, a long day," an exhausted-sounding Young said Thursday night. "Nothing really ever prepares you for this kind of thing. Young said he was at the scene of a three-vehicle crash in the 1500 block of Newport Road when he got word of a sick person at the traffic post. He headed about a mile to the intersection, not knowing that the person in distress was one of his firefighters. "I got there and found out it was Ed and — he was slumped over at the back seat of his car," according to Young. Steffy's wife, Rosene, was there but she couldn't move him.
"He's a big guy, she couldn't get him out," Young said. Young said he and a woman — one of the persons involved in the crash — performed CPR for about three minutes before an ambulance crew arrived. Steffy was in his 49th year with the company and had previously been an emergency medical technician and the department's assistant chief, according to Young. "He was always willing to help people and … well, he was just a very nice gentleman," Young replied when asked to describe Steffy. "He was — I can't say enough," he said. "He was a good friend and will be missed." Steffy and his wife, who are both retired, have two sons, Mark and Nevin. Funeral arrangements had not been finalized Thursday night. Young said he didn't know if the family planned to hold a traditional firefighter service. Young said Rothsville Fire Company will remain in service likely until the day of the funeral. He said several area companies had offered their assistance Thursday. In his 53 years with the company, Young said, Steffy's passing is the department's only line-of-duty death he can remember.
Steffy is the second Lancaster County firefighter to die in the line of duty this year.
Lancaster Township fire Lt. Keith Rankin died after collapsing during a fire training exercise Sept. 25 in West Lampeter Township.
