A retired Elizabeth fire chief died Friday after he fell ill while responding to a fire in Clark last week.
According to the web site NJ.com, Lou Kelly, 70, was rushed to the hospital after he fell ill while serving as a Union County Mutual Aid Coordinator. The Elizabeth Firefighters FMBA Local 9 announced Kelly’s death on its Facebook page Friday morning.
According to local television station News12, Kelly suffered a heart attack while responding to the fire and was revived, but never recovered.
A final alarm message broadcast over Elizabeth’s radios said that Kelly was at the scene of a second alarm structure fire in Corinth on Dec. 8 when he suffered a medical emergency and was rushed to the hospital.
The transmission said Kelly served the city of Elizabeth for 34 years and was a leader in his department, his county and the state of New Jersey. He was chief from 1990 to 2003 and was instrumental in organizing and deploying the largest Union County mutual aid fire response to NYC on Sept. 11, 2001.
A wake will be held at Higgins & Bonner Echo Lake Funeral Home, 582 Springfield Ave. in Westfield from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday. Kelly's funeral is 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Genevieve Church, 200 Monmouth Rd. in Elizabeth.
"Chief Kelly will be sorely missed. May he rest in peace," the radio message concluded.
