Autopsy: Fire chaplain's death was of natural causes
A fire department chaplain collapsed outside a burning bagel cafe in Huntington Station and died after being rushed to the hospital, according to officials. Credit: Steve Silverman
An autopsy determined that the chaplain for the Huntington Manor Fire Department who collapsed Wednesday outside the scene of a pre-dawn blaze died of natural causes, the Suffolk County police said Thursday.
The police homicide squad revealed the autopsy results into the death of Richard Holst, 60, of Huntington Station, in a statement issued Thursday afternoon.
Holst had been a volunteer with the department for more than three decades.
Holst no longer fought fires, but had been walking home from an earlier call when he called in a fire at the Uber Cafe on Depot Road in Huntington Station.
Meanwhile, Holst's family and beloved fire department plan to formally mourn him beginning Saturday at the department's headquarters and concluding with a burial at a military cemetery.
Holst's wake will be at fire department headquarters at 1650 New York Ave. in Huntington Station Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m., and on Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m.; firematic services will be held Sunday at 8 p.m. The funeral will be Monday at St. Hugh of Lincoln Church on New York Avenue in Huntington Station at 10:30 a.m., with burial to follow at Pinelawn Memorial Park, his widow Noreen said.
