Beloved Fire Lieutenant Dies Months Before Marking 30 Years Of Service In Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon Fire Department Lieutenant Ervin "Larry" Oakes died suddenly earlier in the month, the city's police department announced on Friday, April 21. 

Also affectionately known as "Oak Tree," Oakes was born and raised in Mount Vernon and served as a Marine before joining the Mount Vernon Fire Department in 1993, according to the city's Office of Emergency Management Director Michael Montes. 

Oakes spent much of his career as a Truck Company Fire Fighter on Ladder 3 at Station #3, Montes said, adding that he was promoted to the rank of Fire Lieutenant on March 31, 2017. 

He was only months away from marking his thirty-year anniversary with the department, which would have been celebrated on Wednesday, Sept. 13. 

"We ask that you hold his entire family in your prayers," Montes said in a post on social media. 

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