Firefighters share traits, fond memories of colleague

Don Swisher was grocery shopping in 2001 when Kevin Shanahan, then 7, spotted his fire truck in the parking lot and dragged his mom inside.

"He was obsessed with firefighters," said Kevin's mom, Noreen.

Soon Kevin was a regular at the Arlington Heights fire station and the two bonded. Through the years, Swisher would drop by Kevin's soccer games in his fire truck. One Christmas Eve, he left an official firefighter's helmet on the Shanahans' front porch. For one of Kevin's birthdays, Swisher gave him $100 for a basketball hoop.

Then he installed it.

"He was the kind of person who was nice to your kids, and that means a lot," Noreen Shanahan said. "We are going to miss him so much."

More Coverage Links Arlington Heights firefighter found dead in swimming pool [06/02/08]

Swisher, 51, died Sunday while cleaning a swimming pool near Vernon Hills. He was a member of the department's technical rescue, hazardous materials response, and water rescue and recovery dive teams and was off duty when he died.

Wearing scuba gear, Swisher was cleaning a swimming pool at Discovery Day Camp in Indian Creek -- a side business he had. A co-worker found him unresponsive in 12 feet of water at about 1 p.m., Lake County Coroner Richard Keller said.

Swisher's official cause of death was drowning. He did not suffer from a medical condition, said Keller, adding that the probe now turns to why Swisher drowned.

"We're checking the bottom on the pool to see if maybe he got hung up on something," Keller said.

Swisher's scuba gear and air tank will also be tested, Keller said.

Swisher joined the fire department in 1992 and became a paramedic in 1995 and an engineer in 2000.

He worked mostly at the station at 3030 N. Arlington Heights Road. It was quiet on Monday and firefighters wore black bands around their badges in his honor.

There, Swisher had two roles. Officially, he was the cook; unofficially, the handyman everyone turned to when something broke.

Swisher helped Lt. Joe Clarke build a porch and redo some hardwood floors. He helped firefighter Thomas House move into his new home. He often checked cars when they started making funny noises.

"He was unique," Clarke said. "People at Jewel knew him. Repeat patients knew him. He was more than a fireman. He was a community fireman."

Once Swisher and some colleagues took apart a dishwasher because the door wasn't working. They spent a day putting it back together.

"I remember the shift commander came in and we had pieces of it all over the kitchen," firefighter Mike Schubert said.

And Swisher took his cook role seriously. He didn't allow so much as a can of tomato sauce in the kitchen. Everything was made from scratch, and he didn't allow his crew to eat out.

If the crew wanted pizza, Don would make it, fellow firefighters said.

"His pizza was great," House said. "He also made this apple dumpling dessert where he hand-peeled all the apples himself."

"Don didn't cook, he created," added paramedic Tim Franzen.

Swisher previously worked for the Mundelein department and served in the Navy for about 10 years. He grew up in northwest Indiana. He was divorced, and his grown twin sons live in Florida.

Funeral arrangements are pending.