Detroit firefighter dies while trying to save three girls from drowning

Detroit Firefighter Sivad Johnson is being remembered as a hero after losing his life last week while trying to save a group of girls from drowning.

Sivad Johnson is a hero

Sgt. Sivad Johnson, 48, was visiting Detroit River with his 10-year-old daughter when he and several others heard a group of girls in distress, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Johnson went into the water to help the group of girls. Johnson’s daughter phoned 911 a short time later when her father didn’t return to shore.

Johnson’s body was recovered on Saturday morning by divers from the Detroit Police Department and Detroit Fire Department.

“He was my idol,” Jamal Johnson, Johnson’s brother, told local outlet WDIV. “He was always a hero to me.”

According to CNN, three girls were in the river at the time of the incident. Two were saved by a boat that was nearby, while another bystander in the area rescued the third girl.

“He and two other civilians heard either one child or up to three children struggling in the water,” Detroit Fire Department Executive Fire Commissioner Eric Jones told WDIV.

“Sgt. Johnson, along with other civilians, entered the water to make a rescue of the children.”

Johnson,a father of two, was a 26-year veteran of Detroit Fire and received the Medal of Valor in 2017.

“I love him and I just want to thank everybody from the bottom of my heart,” Jamal Johnson told WDIV. ”

We just want to ask everybody for your continued prayers. I’m speechless.”

How to help

A GoFundMe has been set up for Johnson’s family. Dozens of donors left heartfelt messages on the donation page in memory of the fallen firefighter, with many calling him a “true hero.”