By Bill Carey
9 January 2026
DETROIT — A veteran Detroit firefighter assigned to Squad 4 died on 5 January, the department’s commissioner announced.
Patrick Trout, 47, was found dead at home after working an overnight shift Sunday into Monday, FOX 2 Detroit reported. The cause of death has not been determined.
Trout had served with the department for 12 years.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of Detroit Firefighter Patrick Trout,” Executive Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms said in a statement. “Firefighter Trout was a proud member of Squad 4 and a firefighter who embodied service, compassion and had a great sense of humor. The team at Squad 4 said they will miss his morning hugs. They are a very close group. His dedication to this department and to the people of Detroit will never be forgotten.”
Trout’s death will likely be the second on-duty death to be reported by the United States Fire Administration in 2026.
In 2025, stress and overexertion accounted for nearly 53% of the on-duty deaths and were the leading cause of death that year, according to USFA data available on 4 January 2026. Cardiovascular events and heart attacks were the leading nature of death and accounted for half of the yearly total.
Over the last three years, on-duty deaths falling under the Hometown Heroes Act accounted for 21% of the total on-duty deaths in 2025; 24% in 2024; and 19% in 2023, far more than the percentage of interior firefighter fatalities, according to current USFA data.
The Hometown Heroes Act, or Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act, signed on Dec. 15, 2003, by then-President George W. Bush, presumes that a heart attack or stroke is “in the line of duty” if the firefighter was engaged in non-routine, stressful or strenuous physical activity while on duty and the firefighter becomes ill within 24 hours after such activity.
Image courtesy of Detroit Fire Department/Facebook.
Data Not Drama 