Naperville Fire Department Mourns Loss Of Paramedic, Firefighter

NAPERVILLE, IL Alexander Gard, who served with the Naperville Fire Department as a paramedic and firefighter for the past two years, died while off duty, the department announced on Saturday.

Gard, 27, worked out of Station 2 in Naperville and was a member of the department’s union, Local 4302. He is being remembered as an “outstanding firefighter” who was respected by all. Amy Scheller, the deputy Naperville fire chief, told Patch on Monday that Gard was killed in a traumatic single-vehicle accident in Wisconsin on Saturday. No further information was available, Scheller said.

“Please keep the Gard Family, the City of Naperville community and Naperville Fire Department in your thoughts, as we mourn the loss of an outstanding firefighter and loved member,” the department announced in a social media post on Saturday.

Arrangements are pending, the department announced.

“Alex was one of our promising young members of our department, and we are devastated by his passing,” the Naperville Professional Firefighters said in a statement issued on social media on Saturday.

“We are speechless and devastated right now. Our thoughts are with Alex and his family as we begin processing what happened. You are our brother, and you will be missed by all.”