BALTIMORE — The Baltimore City Fire Department is mourning the loss of two of its members in just a matter of days.
Both Emergency Vehicle Driver (EVD) Charles Mudra, a 17-year veteran, and Lieutenant Mark Dranbauer, a 23-year veteran, died in the line of duty last week.
Matthew Coster, president of Baltimore Firefighters IAFF Local 734 speaks on the impact its had on the department
"He was a genuinely nice guy, you know," Matthew Coster, president of Baltimore Firefighters IAFF Local 734, said of EVD Mudra. "He was definitely, excited about the job, devoted to it, devoted to his girlfriend; Liz was the love of his life."
Mudra was a member of Coster's union. Lt. Dranbauer was a member of Baltimore Firefighters IAFF Local 964, but Coster was classmates with him at the fire academy, so he knew him well too.
“He was always joking around, loved the fire department, loved hanging out with his friends," Coster told WMAR-2 News. "He had a best friend in the job as well that was in our class together and that's where they would ride motorcycles, take trips together."
The department was called to what seemed like back-to-back fires last week, but that's what they're trained for. No amount of training can prepare them for handling back-to-back losses.
"It just, it sucks, you know," Coster said. "We're still grieving from January '22 when Stricker Street happened and then we had Linden Heights. We've had eight line of duty deaths in the past three and a half years and multiple active member deaths as well. Everybody's kinda saying, when is BCFD gonna catch a break at this point."
On Monday, May 12, Lt. Dranbauer suffered a medical emergency while fighting a fire from an aerial ladder on Saratoga Street. He was taken off life support over the weekend, and his family says his decision to donate his organs after death will save an estimated 70 people.
On Friday, May 16, EVD Mudra had a medical emergency while participating in a skills training session at the fire academy.
"We had a medic there. So he had the best possible response time you could get. Within 10 seconds of them finding out that he had a medical emergency, they were right there with him and started the ALS prevention and stuff like that," Coster said.
Coster says morale is pretty low among his members right now. But still, they press on - because that's the job.
"I mean, that's just what we do. We keep getting on a truck. Even during that day, Lieutenant Dranbauer passed away early in the morning on Monday and then we had that 7-alarm fire on Monday night. So you know, guys that worked 24 hours, they were still at work dealing with the loss and then still have to work the rest of their shift."
Fundraisers for the families of both EVD Mudra and Lt. Dranbauer have raised thousands of dollars. Jimmy's Famous Seafood is hosting a memorial on June 1. Last week, we told you about a shop selling donuts in honor of Lt. Dranbauer. Support has not been hard to find on social media.
"It obviously always makes us happy when our community supports us and and in our time of need like this," Coster said.
The viewing for Lt. Dranbauer is scheduled for Friday, May 23, at the Schimunek Funeral Home in Bel Air from 3-9 p.m. On Saturday, May 24, the funeral service will be held at Mountain Christian Church in Joppatowne at 11 a.m.
For EVD Mudra, viewings will take place on June 5 and 6 from 2-8 p.m. at Duda-Ruck Funeral Home in Dundalk.
The funeral service will be held on June 7 at the Church of the Nativitiy in Timonium at 11 a.m.
A procession to Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens will immediately follow the funeral service. A repass will be held at 2 p.m. at Hightopps Backstage Grill in Timonium.
