LAFD captain becomes 2nd within department to die from COVID-19 complications

Saturday, January 2, 2021
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A Los Angeles Fire Department captain became the second of the department's firefighters to die from complications due to COVID-19.

Chief Ralph M. Terrazas issued a statement on Friday night, saying Captain George Roque had passed away earlier that day at an area hospital from complications of the virus.
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The 57-year-old was a 22-year veteran of the LAFD, assigned to Fire Station 97 in the Laurel Canyon/Mulholland area, Terrazas added. Roque is survived by his wife and four children.

"On behalf of the men and women of the LAFD, I send my deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the Roque family and his friends and colleagues throughout the department," Terrazas said.

1st LAFD firefighter paramedic dies from COVID-19, agency confirms

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Firefighter paramedic Jose M. Perez, 44, was the department's first employee to succumb to complications from the virus. He died in July.

There have been 650 COVID-19-positive cases in the LAFD and about a dozen have required hospitalization, according to a Los Angeles Times story on Monday, when the first LAFD firefighters and paramedics received the Moderna vaccine.

City News Service contributed to this report.
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