Spokane Valley firefighter dies of cardiac arrest; procession is Wednesday

From staff reports

A Spokane Valley firefighter who suffered cardiac arrest July 21 just after finishing his shift died Aug. 4.

Dan Patterson, 53, had been hospitalized since collapsing outside the front door of Spokane Valley Fire Department Station 2 following a run.

Firefighters on shift found him and began resuscitation efforts until he could be taken to the ICU at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

His family, friends and fellow firefighters were by his side hoping for a recovery. He was taken off of life support Aug. 1. He was an organ donor.

“Know that his personal family and his firefighter family were with him during his passing,” Fire Chief Frank Soto Jr. wrote in an email. “Dan was a big presence for many of us.”

Patterson will be honored with a line-of-duty death protocol that includes a 12-mile procession beginning at 11:15 a.m. Wednesday from the fire station in Millwood and ending at Calvary Chapel in Mead. A funeral follows at 1 p.m.

In a note regarding Patterson’s passing, his family offered thanks to the community “for the outpouring of love, prayers, and support they have received over the past few weeks.”