The death of a St. Lucie firefighter left family and co-workers shocked and seeking answers over a year after his younger brother died under similar circumstances.
Austin Hodge, a nine-year firefighting veteran, died on duty in the early morning of Oct. 24. He was 34.
Reports trickled in that morning of firefighters finding Hodge unresponsive in bed at County Fire Station 7 near Lakewood Park. Hodge was declared dead of cardiac arrest at HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital around 7:25 a.m., Fire District reports show.
Investigations continue in determining Hodge’s cause of death, wrote Florida District 19 Medical Examiner’s Manager Rhode Jean-Philippe in an Oct. 29 email.
Austin Hodge’s passing reopened wounds still fresh from the loss of Jairus Hodge. The second of three sons, he followed Austin into working in the Fire District starting in 2022. Jairus (aka “Jarius” and “Jay”) Hodge died July 17, 2025, aged 26.
Emergency personnel throughout the Treasure Coast paid their respects to Austin Hodge on Oct. 26. His body was transferred from the St. Lucie Medical Examiner at the Indian River State College Massey Campus to the Stone Bros. Funeral Home (317 N. 7th St.).
St. Lucie Battalion 3 Chief Jesus Bayona led eulogies in front of nearly 60 gathered at Stone Bros. Among the mourners were Hodge’s mother Keristan Johnson-Hodge; Fire District chaplain and tutor Lt. Tommie Nieman; and many first responders close to Hodge.
One was Jerrel Fairweather, who joined the Fire District alongside Austin. Having known the Hodges since high school in 2008, he recalled Austin’s guidance before their induction to the district in 2017.
“We did everything together,” Fairweather said. “This one cuts deep.”
One day, Fairweather remembered, during an ambulance shift early on in their paramedic training, “me and Austin sat in the front seat, looked at one another and said, ‘we’re going to make it,” he said. “‘We’re going to do right for this community.’”
Now those memories turned to pain and concern for Javon Hodge, the youngest of the three Hodge brothers. “He’s going through it toughest right now. His older brothers are gone,” said Fairweather.
Martin County firefighter Hannah Abell, wearing a shirt honoring Jairus Hodge, stood with St. Lucie firefighter Austin Blizzard as EMTs rolled out Austin Hodge’s body.
All three trained as first responders in 2014 at IRSC Massey.
Blizzard couldn’t “believe lightning struck twice for the Hodge family,” he said. He worked at Firehouse 3 (480 SW Ravenswood Lane), where Jairus Hodge was stationed when he died. Blizzard said Austin stood up as a “big role model” for many, “with the utmost respect and courage out of anybody.”
Like Austin, Jairus died while on duty of sudden natural causes. The younger Hodge brother died nearly a day after complaining of a fever to then-Fire Chief Jeff Lee, according to records and past interviews.
Austin, a trained respiratory therapist, tended to Jairus at Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital before he died. The Fire District buried the younger Hodge brother with full line-of-duty honors the following Aug. 2.
The Fire District reiterated the cause of Jairus Hodge’s death on social media as reports of Austin’s death emerged. The younger Hodge brother died of “septic shock,” releases citing state records said.
“The District conducted precautionary checks at stations where (Jairus) had served out of an abundance of caution,” added spokesperson Taylor Peeden in an Oct. 30 email.
The River of Life Fellowship Church, 3950 Juanita Ave., Fort Pierce, will host a public wake for Austin Hodge tomorrow from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The Christ Fellowship Church, 10250 Village Parkway, Port St. Lucie, will hold a funeral Mass Saturday at 10 a.m.