Bay Area firefighter dies off-duty at Elk Grove home, officials say. ‘Immeasurable loss’

An Elk Grove resident who worked as a firefighter in the Bay Area died at his home Monday, officials said.

Anthony Ganzler suffered a cardiac event off-duty and died in Elk Grove, according to the Fremont Fire Department where Ganzler worked. He leaves behind a wife and two daughters, the Fire Department said online.

Prior to joining the Fremont Fire Department in 2019, Ganzler worked in the El Dorado County Fire Protection District as an emergency medical technician. He also served in the Army before joining the fire service, officials said.

“His warmth and humor made him universally loved by all he worked with and his passing is an immeasurable loss for our organization,” the Fremont Fire Department’s local union chapter wrote in a GoFundMe seeking to raise money for funeral costs and to support his family.

The union also called Ganzler a “lion of a man” often sporting an “outrageously large mustache” and a formidable stature.

The local union El Dorado County Professional Firefighters Association remembered Ganzler as a hard worker who brought humor and levity to his job.

“He will be deeply missed,” the union said online.