Bucks County firefighter dies of coronavirus
Rick Johnson, 50, was the first Bucks County first responder to die of the coronavirus. Tullytown Borough's mayor said he was a "mainstay" in the community.
The assistant fire chief of the Tullytown Fire Company on Saturday became the first Bucks County first responder to die of the coronavirus, county officials said.
Bucks County Health Director David Damsker confirmed the death of Rick Johnson, 50, of Tullytown.
“Our county has suffered its first loss of a first responder to COVID-19,” county officials said in a Facebook post. “The county commissioners mourn this loss of life and all other that have and will be suffered during the pandemic.”
Friends described Johnson as a dedicated volunteer firefighter and active member of his small Bucks County borough of less than 2,000 residents. He had been in the hospital for more than a week, said Aaron Cohen, the fire chief.
“It’s been a roller coaster of emotion,” Cohen said. “I’ve known him my whole entire life. He’s the reason I joined the Tullytown fire department.”
Johnson was a volunteer firefighter in Tullytown for 27 years; Cohen said he led training for the department and spent about 25 hours per week working with the fire company.
Johnson was one of 11 people in Bucks County to die of the coronavirus as of Saturday, when state officials announced that Pennsylvania now has more than 10,000 confirmed cases of the virus and 136 deaths.
County officials said Saturday that all county flags would be lowered to half-staff until further notice.
Johnson was “a mainstay" at borough functions, said Tullytown Mayor David Cutchineal.
“When you grow up in a small town like Tullytown,” Cutchineal said, “when someone like Rick passes, it’s like a member of your family passes, for all of us.”
Johnson’s wife, son, and daughter are also volunteer firefighters.
“He was dedicated to the Tullytown Fire Company,” Cutchineal said. “He loved the Philadelphia Eagles, he loved music, he loved to dance.”
Cohen said he was not sure how Johnson got infected with the coronavirus. He had not been at the fire company with other people since March 12, and had stopped by alone on March 18.
The fire department was professionally cleaned and sanitized even before the fire company knew that Johnson had COVID-19, Cohen said.
Fire company members are left to communicate through Facebook and text messages. Still, he said, the virus and the need for social distancing has made it difficult for members of the close-knit company of 50 volunteers to support one another over the painful loss of one of their own.
“That’s been the hardest part for us as a family on our end, just not being able to be there for anybody, even him,” Cohen said. “I wouldn’t wish this on anybody.”
No memorial events will be planned on behalf of the fire company until the pandemic is over, Cohen said.
“He’s well-respected in the fire service in this area and he’s in need of a good showing,” he said.
Community members were expected to participate in a drive past the firehouse Saturday night to show support for Johnson’s family, according to a Facebook post shared by the fire company.
Some members gathered Friday night outside Jefferson Bucks Hospital in Langhorne, where Johnson had been, to show their love and support. They flashed the lights of the fire trucks and stood holding Johnson’s helmet.
Johnson “is currently fighting for his life,” firefighter David Pearl had explained in the video, adding that they all wished they could be inside the hospital with him.
“This is the only way we could be in contact with him, and this is what firefighters do — we come out and show our support,” Pearl said. “Whether he can see out the window or not is not important to us. We know that he knows we’re here.”
Cohen said the firefighters gathered at the hospital because they heard Friday that Johnson may not make it through the night and they wanted to “go up and pay our last respects.”
The fire chief was still “trying to comprehend” Johnson’s death on Saturday afternoon, but said he hoped that it could teach people the importance of social distancing.
“I’m hoping that this also hits people that don’t understand about this virus, about what it actually can do and what we have to do as a community. … Wash our hands, the social distancing, stay inside,” he said. “We need to break this curve.”
Staff writer Maddie Hanna contributed to this article.