Pompano Firefighter Dies After 100 Foot Fall From Ladder
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (CBSMiami.com) – A Pompano Beach Firefighter fell to his death Friday afternoon after falling off a 100-foot ladder during a climbing exercise.
Elliott was a respected firefighter, his colleagues say.
"As one of his officers, going into work on a day that he was there you knew you were going to have a safe day," said Lt. Joe Rogers. "It's just a sad time for everybody."
Small said his firefighters train often on the ladders, making sure they are confident going up and down when simulating a high stress situation.
"They were doing an exercise that he'd done 100 times," Small told reporters. "We don't know exactly what happened up there he was one of the most skilled people and responsible people we know."
The chief said all safety regulations were followed. He said Elliott was using a harness during the ladder climb but as trained, he unhooked to come down the ladder. He was near the top of the ladder when he fell.
Pompano Beach Mayor Lamar Fisher said Elliott will be missed.
"(He was) so kind and so patient especially with our residents when he would go on a rescue call," Fisher said. "Everybody just loved and respected him. Just a tragic, tragic thing."
Elliott leaves behind his parents, a brother and a sister. Fisher said Elliott's brother-in-law works for the Boca Raton Fire Department.
City leaders said this is the first time a Pompano Beach firefighter died on duty.
As Elliott's friends, family and co-workers consoled each other his body was driven in a Pompano Beach Fire Rescue Truck in a caravan to the Broward Medical Examiner's Office.
For a tight knit group of men and women who work to save lives they were left to grieve the loss of one of their own.
"We enjoy our job and it takes your heart and soul and one man just left his," Rogers said.
Funeral plans for Elliott are being made. Fisher said the challenge will be finding a venue large enough to hold all the people who want to say goodbye to William Elliott.
