A man news reports say was an off-duty firefighter died Sunday morning while competing in a triathlon in Cape May County, officials said.
CBS Philly reported the man was an off-duty Philadelphia firefighter. An employee at the Philadelphia Fire Department, who declined to be identified, confirmed that a firefighter had died at the event. The man had nearly completed the swimming portion of the Escape the Cape Triathlon event held in Lower Township when he was found unresponsive in the water by an event volunteer stationed near the course, according to Jim Salmon, a spokesman for the Delaware River and Bay Authority.
The cause of death was of an “apparent cardiac arrest,” Salmon said, but he declined to identify the man, saying family members had yet to be notified.
Adam Thiel, Philadelphia’s fire commissioner tweeted Sunday about two off-duty firefighters who died on Sunday. The second death is unrelated to the Cape May triathlon.