AFD Training Center to Be Named After Fallen Paramedic

The Alexandria Fire Department will name its professional development center at the Lee Center on Jefferson Street after fallen paramedic Joshua Weissman.

“This is a very appropriate honor for Joshua Weissman and his family,” Mayor Bill Euille said Saturday.

In February 2012, Weissman, 33, died of injuries sustained after falling off an overpass while responding to a car fire in South Arlington. He was a seven-year veteran of the Alexandria Fire Department.

“Josh always had a smile,” Alexandria Fire Chief Adam Thiel said at a press conference shortly after Weismann’s death. “He was always positive. I never heard a negative comment.”

Weissman worked out of Fire Station 206 on Seminary Road and had a history of outstanding performance training reports. Thiel said the paramedic received many letters from the community commending his work and was known to check on families days after responding to calls to their homes. 

He participated in numerous committees for the department and as an instructor.

“That was the kind of person Josh was,” Thiel said. “Committed, dedicated and professional until the end.”

While the department has lost firefighters and paramedics in different situations in the past, Thiel said Weissman was the first member to fall in the line of duty in more than 100 years.