FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – When you work in this town as long as many of us have, you develop relationships with the people you rely on for public information. That was the case with Donald DiPetrillo.
When you think of an overall good guy who was always accessible and honest and loved what he did, DiPetrillo was on top of that list.
On Wednesday, friends and colleagues wearing Personal Protective Equipment loaded the body of the 70-year-old Seminole Tribe Fire Chief into a Seminole Fire Rescue Unit that took him to his final resting place.
“We lost a great man, but we gained a great angel,” Will Latchford, director of Public Safety for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, said.
The procession to Lauderdale Memorial Park was a spectacular sight: West on Broward Boulevard to State Route 441, south to State Route 84, lined with police and firefighters from all departments, all saluting the well-known and well-loved fallen chief.
“During these challenging times, it’s unfortunate we couldn’t do a traditional send-off for Chief DiPetrillo,” Latchford said. “We were able to accomplish what he meant to us and to the community and the state of Florida," Latchford said.
DiPetrillo devoted his life to public service. He was in the Navy in 1971, became assistant fire chief in Fort Lauderdale from 1973 to2001, then fire chief in Davie for six years. He has been the fire chief for the Seminole Tribe of Florida for the past 12 years.
“Don was a humble man that would give the shirt of his back to anyone who needed it,” Latchford said. “He inspired the people around him and he cherished when he saw a young firefighter excel at their tradition of firefighting.”
DiPetrillo, a Davie resident, died Thursday, April 30, at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood after contracting COVID-19. He was initially hospitalized March 10, released the following day, and then readmitted March 12 to the hospital, where he remained undergoing treatment.
DiPetrillo is believed to have contracted the virus while attending an emergency medical services conference in Tampa in early March, the tribe said in a news release.
He is survived by a son, mother, two brothers and a girlfriend.
Latchford said a celebration of life will be held in the future. “I think we captured something (today) that Don would be proud of that represents him and his career and service.”