INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A processional will take place Monday morning for an Indianapolis firefighter who died Saturday after complaining of chest pain while responding to a call on Friday.
The procession for IFD Engineer Matthew Bennett will start outside Community North Hospital at 9 a.m., travel south on Shadeland Avenue, west on 75th Street, south on Binford Boulevard, west on 38th Street and north on Clarendon to arrive at Crown Hill Funeral Home, Indianapolis Fire Department said Sunday.
Bennett, 49, had worked for Franklin Township Fire since 1997 and joined IFD in 2010 when the departments merged.
He was driving Engine 1 on Friday morning and arrived at the scene of a possible structural collapse in the 5400 block of Brendan Park Way around 10:15 a.m. prepared to assess the damage to the structure. Shortly after that, the commanding crew at the scene was told Bennett was complaining of chest pain and being checked by emergency medical personnel already at the scene, IFD said.
Bennett was taken to Heart Hospital at Community Hospital North, arrived at 10:55 a.m. and was immediately taken into surgery, IFD said. Despite life-saving efforts, Bennett died Saturday afternoon surrounded by his family, IFD said. Bennett is survived by a wife, daughter, stepdaughter, stepson and three grandchildren.
Before he joined Franklin Township fire, Bennett served as a Wayne Township reserve firefighter from 1982-2003, as well as an IFD dispatcher and an EMT with Wishard, IFD said.
“Our hearts are broken,” Battalion Chief Rita Reith wrote in a Saturday news release.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett called upon state and local officials to join him in flying flags at half-staff in remembrance of Bennett, his office said in an email.
