A decorated Phoenix firefighter and war veteran was found dead in his quarters at the Arizona Army National Guard Base on Friday night.
Department officials announced on Sunday that Juston Doherty passed away suddenly while on active military maneuvers.
The official cause of death was not immediately released, but a Facebook group dedicated to the 158 Infantry Regiment of the Arizona National Guard, nicknamed the Bushmasters, stated in a post that Doherty has died of ‘apparent natural causes.’
Tragic: Juston Doherty (left and right), a decorated Phoenix firefighter, passed away suddenly at the Arizona Army National Guard Base on Friday night. He was 46 years old
Previous career: Doherty (pictured) was a highly-decorated captain in the US Army
Hero: He served two combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, earning a Bronze Star
Doherty was a 15-year veteran of the Phoenix Fire Department and held the title of technical rescue technician.
He also was a highly-decorated captain in the US Army. Doherty was an Army Ranger and Airborne School graduate who served two combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Doherty received multiple commendations and medals throughout his military career, including the Bronze Star. He continued to serve in the Army Reserves in addition to being a full-time Phoenix firefighter.
In 2014, Doherty earned the Phoenix Fire Department’s medal of valor for entering a burning apartment on his day off without protection to try and save some trapped children.
As Doherty revealed in an interview in July 2014, he had suffered smoke inhalation and serious burns to his hands in the incident. At least one baby perished in the fire.
In 2014, Doherty earned the Phoenix Fire Department’s medal of valor for entering this burning apartment on his day off without protection
Doherty (pictured talking about the incident in 2014) suffered smoke inhalation and serious burns to his hands (right)
Funeral services for Doherty are pending. According to a post from a woman who identified herself as the wife of Doherty’s eldest stepson, the firefighter is survived by one biological son and three stepchildren, as well as his fiancee.
Friends and co-workers have been flooding social media with posts paying tribute to Doherty.
Phoenix Fire Capt. P.J. Dean, a close friend of Doherty’s, described him in an impassioned status update as ‘a mountain of a man’ and ‘truly one of a kind.’
‘My friend, my brother….you were larger than life and seemingly indestructible,’ Dean wrote. ‘I am truly better for have knowing you and humbled at the human example of courage and fortitude you left for all of us to learn from in this life.’