SALT LAKE CITY — The Unified Fire Authority shared Sunday that they are mourning the loss of an active-duty fire Captain, who died of COVID-19 complications.
Captain Merrill Bone was a 36-year veteran of the fire service and his passing is being treated as a line of duty death.
Capt. Bone started his career with the Salt Lake City Fire Department where he was a firefighter and paramedic. He was also a member of the Heavy Rescue Program and Utah Task Force 1, where he was deployed multiple times, including to New York City following the attacks of 9/11.
After retiring from SLCFD, he joined UFA where he was a paramedic and was promoted to Captain in 2013. He also continued to be a member of the Heavy Rescue program and the Utah Task Force 1 team.
"Captain Bone has been a very influential member of the fire service not only to those in the Salt Lake Valley but Nationally," a statement from the department read. "Merrill's legacy will live on in the lives of those he helped mentor in his 35 years of dedication to the service of others."
"We ask for patience as his family and our department grieve his passing," the department stated.
A procession of fire apparatus will be moving the firefighter from the hospital to the mortuary Sunday night.
