The Auburn Fire Department is commemorating the service and sacrifice of two firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty, marking the anniversaries of their tragic deaths with solemn remembrance.
Firefighter Patrick J. LaGambino died in a blaze at 201½ Genesee Street on May 12, 1973. Responding in the early morning hours, LaGambino and his crew entered the third floor to search and ventilate as the fire escalated. Conditions suddenly deteriorated when a flashover occurred, and LaGambino was separated from his team. Though he managed to break out a window, he was unable to escape through the narrow opening.
The fire, initially reported at 2:28 a.m., intensified rapidly after flames destroyed a gas meter. By 3:58 a.m., it had reached a third alarm. LaGambino’s death remains one of the department’s darkest days.
Decades earlier, on May 12, 1939, Firefighter James H. McGee responded with Engine Company #6 to a fire at The Home on 46 Grant Avenue. As he stepped off the fire apparatus at 12:45 a.m., McGee collapsed, complaining of numbness in his limbs. He was rushed to the hospital, where he fell into a coma and died the following day from a cerebral hemorrhage.
“This week, we remember and honor two Auburn firefighters who passed away in the line of duty,” the department shared in a public statement. Both men are remembered not only for their bravery, but for their unwavering dedication to protecting the lives of others.
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