MoCo firefighter’s name to be permanently added to national memorial

Lt. Christopher Higgins died while in the line of duty in January 2025

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April 30, 2026 8:00 a.m. | Updated: April 29, 2026 10:22 p.m.

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The name of a Montgomery County firefighter who died after experiencing a medical emergency while responding to a 2025 house fire in Laurel will be added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg this weekend, according to a press release from the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

Lt. Christopher (Chris) Higgins, 46, a master firefighter posthumously promoted to lieutenant, was a 23-year veteran of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS). At the time of his death on Jan. 11, he worked as a firefighter at Station 15 in Burtonsville.

On the night of Higgins’ death, MCFRS crews, including Higgins’ Burtonsville unit, were responding to a mutual aid call for a house fire on Bradford Lane in Laurel. While responding to the blaze, Higgins experienced a medical emergency and collapsed at the scene.

Medics at the scene performed life-saving measures to try to resuscitate Higgins. He was later transported to the Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center in Silver Spring, where he was pronounced dead.

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“Master Firefighter Higgins dedicated his life to protecting others, and we are committed to honoring his legacy by continuing to serve with the same courage and dedication to which he demonstrated every day,” MCFRS Chief Corey Smedley said in the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation press release.

Higgins is one of 204 firefighters whose names will be permanently added to the memorial during the foundation’s annual memorial weekend, according to the release. He is one of 97 firefighters being honored who died in 2025.

During the memorial weekend, the foundation will host two public ceremonies at the memorial grounds at S. Seton Ave. A candlelight service will be held from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday and a memorial service will be held from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, the release said. Services will be livestreamed online and on the foundation’s YouTube and Facebook channels.

According to Higgins’ profile on the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation website, Higgins began his firefighting career at age 16, volunteering at a fire department in Anne Arundel County, where he was raised. During his professional firefighting career, he worked at stations in Takoma Park, Glenmont and Burtonsville. He left behind his wife, Lisa Higgins, of 18 years and two children.

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“He was his wife’s biggest fan and her greatest supporter, always believing in her, standing beside her, and cheering her on through every joy and challenge during their 18 years together,” Higgins’ profile says. “As a father, he led with warmth, patience, and unwavering dedication, creating a home filled with love, laughter, and security. His legacy lives on in the strength and closeness he nurtured with his wife and children; they are devastated by a constant void felt with every passing moment.”

Nearly a year after his death, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich signed a bill created in honor of Higgins called The HERO Act, which aims to make survivor benefits payable immediately to the family of a fallen first responder after a line-of-duty death.

The bill was created after it took Higgins’ widow six months to receive any of the survivor benefits to which her family was entitled. Elrich described the previous benefits retrieval process as “broken.”

In March, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health released its line-of-duty death report that investigated Higgins’ death. The report found that Higgins had died three days after returning to work after recovering from a stroke.

The report, which included a review of Higgins’ medical records, revealed that Higgins collapsed at the house fire in Laurel after throwing a ladder. According to the report, Higgins had a congenital heart condition and had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure when he was hospitalized for a stroke in October 2024.

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According to the report, nearly half of all firefighter duty-related deaths are caused by sudden cardiac death.

Higgins did not report the extent of his medical condition to MCFRS’s department physician, and a medical evaluation was not conducted when he returned to work, according to the report. In addition, instead of using medical leave, he used a shift substitution policy to take off to recover from the stroke.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine