INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Fire Department is mourning the sudden loss of a firefighter.
The department said Gerald Brooks, a 21-year veteran of IFD, died of complications from COVID-19. He served in the U.S. Air Force before becoming a firefighter.
Brooks worked the last several years of his career at Fire Station 31.
On Friday, his funeral procession will pass by the station and his final call will be read over department radio, signifying his end of watch.
Fellow firefighters and the public paid their respects Thursday night to Brooks, who served his country in the United States Air Force before becoming a firefighter.
“He was very meticulous about his craft, a consummate professional and probably one of the best friends you could probably ever have,” said IFD Capt. Corey Floyd, who remembered Brooks as a father, as well as a friend and mentor, who joined IFD in 2000. “A consummate professional and a hell of a man. A hell of a man."
IFD said Brooks is believed to have caught COVID on the job. He's the fourth firefighter from Indiana to die from the virus.
Brooks' passing is the tenth death of a member of IFD in almost three years, but the first from COVID.
On its website, the International Association of Firefighters lists 70 members of its 325,000 who have passed from COVID since the start of the pandemic.
“It’s just a big surprise, possibly because a lot of us have contracted it, been exposed and you see so many go unscathed or just with illness and with such a courageous guy and such an awesome person, I just think it was a shock. It was just a shock to everybody,” Floyd said.
Brooks leaves behind a 17-year-old son and a legacy of service to his country and this city.
“It’s tough on the fire department. It’s tough on our city and definitely hard on the family. We lost a good one,” said Floyd.
Brooks will be honored with full honors and a presumptive line of duty death service, IFD said.
Visitation at Grace Apostolic Church at 649 E. 22nd St. starts at 9 a.m. Friday with a service following at 11 a.m. The visitation and service are open to the public. After a celebration of life service, a funeral procession will take place, passing under two garrison flags.
Brooks will be laid to rest at Springs Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, where he's from, on Saturday, Nov. 13.
The Indiana State Police will escort Brooks' body from the funeral home to the Ohio state line, where the procession will be picked up by the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Cincinnati Police.
The Cincinnati Firefighters Union and Cincinnati Black Firefighters Association will provide Brooks with the appropriate firefighter line of duty burial honors.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb directed for flags throughout Marion County to be flown at half-staff from sunrise until sunset on Friday, Nov. 12, to honor Brooks.
Brooks previously served as vice president and secretary of the Indianapolis Black Firefighters Association.
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