WESTFIELD, Ind. — The death of former Westfield Fire Department Chief Gary Southerland is now being considered a line-of-duty death.
Southerland passed away Jan. 12, 2020 due to cancer at the age of 68. That cancer has been ruled as being caused by his work with the fire department and so his death is now considered in the line of duty.
In a posting on Facebook, the department said, "Chief Southerland made the ultimate sacrifice for the citizens he served."
Southerland had served the department for 34 years. According to the page supportingheroes.org, Southerland retired from the department Dec. 27, 2012 and was diagnosed with kidney cancer the following day.
