County rescue worker dies in fall at school

Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2005

Click here to enlarge this photo Photo submitted by Seneca Valley High School John Horvat helped with the technical aspects of communications at Seneca Valley High School’s football games. Early last month he attended the Seneca Valley-Wheaton game at Wheaton High School as deputy chief of the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad.

John Richard Horvat Sr., deputy chief of the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad, routinely drove the squad’s truck to school. Horvat, 53, died Sunday morning after a fall from the catwalk in the school’s auditorium.

‘‘He was always driving his rescue truck,” senior Jessica Furey said Monday morning. ‘‘It was the first car you’d see when you’d come to school. He was that face that you always saw. You could be having the worst day — failed a test or something — and he’d tell a joke and you’d forget it all.”

Horvat, of Germantown, was setting up lights for a morning church service when he fell at about 7:16 a.m., police said.

It is unclear what caused him to fall, but coworkers heard him yell and saw him fall, police said. The Maryland Occupational Safety and Health division is investigating, police said.

Fire Rescue personnel arrived to find bystanders performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He was transported to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville and later died, police said. An autopsy will be performed by the state medical examiner’s office in Baltimore, police said.

Horvat, the school’s media services technician, was a 34-year employee of Montgomery County Public Schools and worked the last two decades at Seneca Valley.

Grief counselors were at the school Monday.

Principal Suzanne Maxey said Horvat ‘‘could be seen in his studio coordinating the morning PA announcements, creating videos for students and repairing school technology equipment. He freely gave his time to work at both home and away sporting events, pep rallies, assemblies and the many other events where his expertise was needed. His pride and joy was the Quizmaster program that aired across the county.”

Furey said that as team manager for the school’s football team, she counted on his assistance setting up the audio for referees.

‘‘He was very selfless,” she said.

Students wore blue and white ribbons in remembrance. Horvat’s favorite color was light blue, she said.

Horvat rose through the ranks of the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad over 28 years and was very active serving Montgomery County, particularly the communities of Wheaton, Kensington and Silver Spring. He routinely spent several nights a week at the rescue squad, repairing equipment, training new members and serving as a mentor to many within the rescue squad, according to the county’s fire and rescue service.

To pay respects Friends may call today from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at Francis J. Collins Funeral Home, 500 University Boulevard West, Silver Spring. A Rescue Memorial Service will be held at 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held 10 a.m. Thursday at Hughes United Methodist Church, 10700 Georgia Ave., Wheaton. Interment will follow at Parklawn Memorial Gardens, 12800 Viers Mill Rd., Rockville.

‘‘I think what showed was his absolute love for the rescue squad. What came first was doing the right thing,” said Steve Sobolewski, another deputy chief at Wheaton. ‘‘Even though that sometimes made him unpopular at the time, it is what ended up making the organization stronger.”

Horvat was protective of the squad’s equipment, Sobolewski said. When it snowed and squad members had to place chains on the tires of trucks and rescue vehicles, Horvat would stay up until 3 a.m. doing the job.

‘‘John was so emphatic that these be done right, that he would do them himself,” he said.

Horvat also loved working with the heavy rescue squad division, the part involved in pulling people out of crashes and other accidents, Sobolewski said.

His dedication never withered. Horvat earned his life membership status in 1988, which exempted him from some minimum duties. But Horvat still spent several nights a week at the rescue squad, repaired equipment, trained new members and served as a mentor for the organization.

‘‘From the first day he walked in –– from then on –– he knew it was his way to be involved in the community,” he said.

County Executive Douglas M. Duncan called Horvat an exceptional individual and in a statement said, ‘‘his loss will be deeply felt by the entire community.” In addition to his work with the school system and the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad, Horvat served on numerous committees for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service and the Maryland Sate Firemen’s Association, he said.

Horvat lived in the Silver Spring area for many years and currently resided in Germantown with his wife, Beth. They have three grown children. He is also survived by his mother, three sisters and a granddaughter.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the John R. Horvat Sr. Memorial Fund, care of Wheaton Rescue Squad, 11435 Grandview Ave., P.O. Box 1577, Wheaton, MD 20915.

Staff Writer Erin Uy contributed to this report.