Lieutenant Ehrlich commanded the Engine Company out of #8’s Firehouse. He was well known for his firefighting abilities. In the early afternoon of August 14^th 1973 Engine #8 and Truck #8 responded to a regular alarm for a dwelling fire in the 200 block of N. Richter. Upon arrival the companies found a small abandoned structure fully charged with acrid thick smoke. Breathing apparatus were not in use at this time. Lt. Ehrlich recognized the smell and instructed his crew that it was a mattress fire. He entered through the front door leading both crews through the smoke in search of the mattress. He quickly located one and pulled it out of the home and returned to help his crew find more. All in all there were six burning mattresses pulled and extinguished from the dilapidated home. No sooner had the #8 crews returned to quarters when Lt. Ehrlich became ill. The District Chief was summoned and he rushed the Lieutenant to the Baptist Memorial Hospital. The veteran firefighter did not survive and succumbed to a heart attack. He was survived by his wife Gloria and five daughters. They made their home at 1912 Kentucky.  

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