{"id":221051,"date":"2026-04-06T20:46:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/221051\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T20:46:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:46:13","slug":"horror-as-beloved-firefighter-54-drops-dead-during-his-shift-at-fort-lauderdale-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/221051\/","title":{"rendered":"Horror as beloved firefighter, 54, drops dead during his shift at Fort Lauderdale airport"},"content":{"rendered":"

A veteran firefighter died while on duty at Florida<\/a>‘s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Deputies with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office found\u00a0Steven Lepselter, 54, unresponsive on the ground\u00a0around 7am on Sunday inside the Palm Garage, just outside the building.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue firefighter and paramedic\u00a0was transported to\u00a0Broward Health Medical Center, where he died.\u00a0His cause of death was not immediately released.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Lepselter leaves behind his wife and their two children.<\/p>\n

Just before his death, Lepselter was wrapping up his fire watch at the airport and preparing to head to his shift in Weston, the sheriff’s office said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Firefighter\/Paramedic Lepselter proudly served the people of Broward County for 19 years. He began his fire rescue career with BSO\u2019s Department of Fire Rescue and Emergency Services in January 2007,’ Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said following his death.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Throughout his distinguished career, he served in multiple specialized divisions, including the Airport, Seaport, Hazardous Materials (HazMat), Air Rescue and the Training Division.<\/p>\n

‘Known for his unwavering dedication, Firefighter\/Paramedic Lepselter exemplified service, compassion and professionalism. In his role within the Training Division, he was deeply committed to mentoring and shaping the next generation of firefighter\/paramedics.<\/p>\n

\"Broward <\/p>\n

Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue firefighter and paramedic\u00a0Steven Lepselter, 54, died on Sunday morning while on duty at the\u00a0Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport<\/p>\n

\"Deputies <\/p>\n

Deputies with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office found Lepselter unresponsive on the ground around 7am on Sunday inside the Palm Garage, just outside the airport (pictured)<\/p>\n

‘He brought unmatched passion to his work and consistently provided expert care, comfort and reassurance to those during their most significant time of need.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tony shared an emotional tribute video to Lepselter as his fellow firefighters and EMTs escorted his body out of the hospital and into the ambulance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A large American flag was seen draped over him as his colleagues saluted him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The ambulance was then driven to the medical examiner’s office, escorted by a firetruck and sheriff’s vehicles on the highway.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After arriving at the office, a line of sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, and paramedics saluted Lepselter as his body was brought inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before joining the Broward\u00a0Sheriff Fire Rescue team, the devoted first responder worked as a firefighter and paramedic for the New York City Fire Department, according to his Facebook page.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Following the news of his death, a slew of tributes poured in online from his coworkers and friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"An <\/p>\n

An emotional tribute video showed Lepselter’s fellow firefighters and EMTs escorting his body out of the hospital and into the ambulance after he died<\/p>\n

\"Lepselter <\/p>\n

Lepselter leaves behind his wife (pictured together) and their two children<\/p>\n

‘Rest in peace, Leppy. Our Brooklyn brother – your stories of the old neighborhoods, \u201cback in the day,\u201d L&B, baseball, fishing\u2026 they weren\u2019t just memories, they were pieces of your soul that you shared with all of us,’ one user wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Your time here feels far too short, but we take comfort in knowing you didn\u2019t walk through those gates alone,’ they added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another friend wrote: ‘I love you Steven Lepselter my brother and I’ll miss you. RIP.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Steven Lepselter FF\/PM HM TECH. REST IN PEACE STEVE, you will be missed by all who knew you,’ someone else posted on Facebook.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"After <\/p>\n

After arriving at the medical examiner’s office, a line of sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, and paramedics saluted Lepselter as his body was brought inside<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The devoted first responder (far right) worked as a firefighter and paramedic for the New York City Fire Department, according to his Facebook page<\/p>\n

‘God Speed Leppy… See ya on the other side brother! RIP,’ a user shared.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Funeral arrangements for Lepselter are pending.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Daily Mail contacted the Broward Sheriff’s Office for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A veteran firefighter died while on duty at Florida‘s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.\u00a0 Deputies with the Broward County…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221052,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[1761,1292,28,249,251,250,115],"class_list":{"0":"post-221051","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-lauderdale","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-facebook","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-fort-lauderdale","12":"tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","13":"tag-fort-lauderdale-news","14":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}