WASHINGTON (WUSA9) — Like a father taking care of his family, that’s how firefighters at DC’s Engine 29 Truck 5 are remembering 57-year-old Robert “Bob” Marshall.
This weekend a DC Fire & EMS spokesperson confirmed the 20-year department veteran died from serious injuries sustained in an off-duty accident on April 13th. According to local reports, a truck struck Marshall’s vehicle as he was changing a tire on the shoulder of the road.
Colleagues at the "Palisades Firehouse" on MacArthur Blvd NW say Marshall came from a New York “firefighting” family. Most recently he lived in West Virginia.
Lt. Joseph Boling says Marshall loved firefighting so much, he commuted some 80 miles or more from West Virginia to work with his Washington D.C. team.
In his New York accident, Lt. Boling says he’d always hear, “Lou,' this, 'Lou,' that, it was all day long because he was always into something.”
The Lt. says Marshall was always working on equipment to make sure everything was in top shape. He didn't have to, but his firehouse family says the most important piece of equipment Marshall took care of: was the heart.
“He was asking us what we wanted to eat. You know, well sometimes, well Bob take a break, ‘Oh you guys, you want to eat, I’ll fix you something,” said a longtime colleague, DC Firefighter Technician, Toree Holmes.
“The Firehouse centers around our meals and Bob cooked our meals every day, he was our cook and he planned that on his three days off, what our meals were for the next shift,” said Lt. Boling.
There’s one more thing many knew Marshall for: a big red suit.
“The highlight of his year was playing Santa Claus. He would start on me every shift, ‘Lou, are we going to go? When are we going?” said Boling, who laughed adding, "And we’re [all going] ‘Bob it’s October. We got two months, we’ll figure it out!”
“He wanted to help people. And when we weren’t on calls, he wanted to help! Do something,” said Holmes, recounting the smile on kids’ faces when they saw Marshall in the Santa suit. Colleagues say Marshall always handed-out candy canes at the Safeway supermarket just up the street.”
“He’s going to be missed,” said Lt. Boling after a large exhale.
WUSA 9 was told Marshall spent a decade at the Engine 29 Firehouse.
Funeral services are now being made in West Virginia, where he shared a home with his wife.
