LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Members of Louisville's firefighting community are in mourning after the loss of one their own.
Brian Morgan, deputy chief of the Pleasure Ridge Park Fire Department, died after suffering a heart attack Saturday morning at age 46. He served with the department for 28 years.
"There's so many things I would tell him," said fellow PRP firefighter Joseph Bowman, one of Morgan’s friends for 25 years. "Number one, that I loved him and I am going to miss him. He was one of my best friends and like a brother to me."
Pleasure Ridge Park Fire District Deputy Chief Brian Morgan died Saturday morning at age 46. (Courtesy of the PRP Fire District)
Dispatchers received a call to Morgan's home Saturday morning. The deputy chief's colleagues rushed there to try and save his life.
"There were definitely some tears, but you could tell most guys were trying to contain themselves and be very professional and they were," PRP Fire Chief Doug Recktenwald told WDRB News.
Doug Recktenwald, chief of the Pleasure Ridge Park Fire Department
Morgan was a married father of four boys. He loved classical music and baseball, especially the Chicago Cubs. He was affectionally known as "Papa Bear" to some at the station – a man who had a passion for helping others and his community.
"That's why I promoted him to my deputy chief," Recktenwald said. "He was a guy that wanted to get things done and he was very intelligent and could get things done."
Memories of Morgan are still on display at the station. His wife had a large piece of metal artwork made when he was promoted to deputy chief.
Inside Brian Morgan's office at the Pleasure Ridge Park Fire Department in Louisville, Ky., on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020.
Morgan’s passing is not only a loss for those who knew him as a boss and a coworker, but also those who knew him as a close friend.
"Usually, he walks in the door at 8 (a.m.) for our Monday morning meeting and, usually, he'll be sitting next to me and, obviously, that void is going to be there," Bowman said.
Funeral arrangements for Morgan have not yet been announced.
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