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

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.

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.

The first firefighter with the Los Angeles Fire Department has died due to COVID-19, the agency confirmed.

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.