The Oklahoma City Fire Department announced Monday that Major Andy Davis, who died on Christmas night, caught the COVID-19 virus while answering a call.
His death was followed by the death of a second firefighter employee, Robert Saudia, a support services specialist who died Monday at his home in southern Oklahoma City. Both men died at the age of 45.
Davis and Saudia are among the 171 employees of the fire brigade who have caught the virus, of whom 148 have since recovered. No further details about Saudia’s death were obtained on Monday. He was occupied by force for two years.
Fire Chief Richard Kelley fought back tears at a news conference Monday afternoon as he spoke about Davis, a 20-year veteran based at Fire Park no.
“Andy was a lot of fun,” Kelley said. “It was a joy to be around, as I always had a funny story or a loner to laugh at. He was the kind of firefighter you always wanted at the scene of the incident because you knew he would always do the job. ”
Davis came from a family of firefighters who served the city for half a century. He was the son of retired Captain Johnny Davis, brother of Deputy Director Tony Davis and Major Scott Davis and uncle of the Cpl. AJ Davis.
“It’s a family that has served this community for many years,” Kelley said. “We are hurting his family and we want to do for this family everything we can.”
Davis first showed symptoms on December 11th. It was tested by the fire brigade medical unit and tested positive for COVID-19. On December 15, he coughed and suffered from coughing, headaches, fever and fatigue. The next day he was admitted to the hospital.