April 10, BRADENTON, FLA. Firefighter/EMT Brian Reed, 39, a 12-year veteran of West Manatee Fire and Rescue, died Tuesday, April 10, while working on a light fixture at Fire Station 2. Reed fell from the 12- to 15-foot ladder on which he was standing and, according to Manatee County Sheriff�s Office reports, struck his head on the concrete floor. He then went into cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead at Blake Medical Center at 10:06 a.m.
Reed, who worked as an electrician before joining the fire service as a full-time firefighter, may have been electrocuted. According to his brother, Jack, who is employed as a manager in the food service department at Blake Medical Center, a Blake official told him that electrocution caused his brother�s death. The sheriff�s report noted that the light fixture had an active current. Officials of West Manatee Fire and Rescue and the Sheriff�s Office are investigating to determine the official cause of death.
Reed leaves behind his wife and two daughters, ages 10 and 3.