I knew Ed. Liberty is north of Youngstown, and we're south of it. We've hired a bunch of Liberty Fire guys over the years. Ed used to come around and shoot the breeze with guys I've worked with. He used to be a Catholic priest. I never knew why he left that calling, but I do know that if you needed to talk to someone so you could decompress after an ugly call, you could talk to him.
According to The Youngstown Vindicator, Ed was pulling a hose from an engine when he fell off the truck and struck his head. They don't know yet whether a heart attack caused the fall, but he was unconscious after he fell to the ground, and never regained consciousness.
Funeral arrangements were still pending when The Vindicator went to print.
(edit: here's a thread from Youngstownfire.com that deals with Ed's death:
http://www.youngstownfire.com/phpbb/...pic.php?t=3322 )