A Baltimore City firefighter is on life support and not expected to survive after battling a blaze earlier in the week, fire officials said Thursday.

Lt. Mark Dranbauer Jr., 44, “suffered a medical emergency” from atop a ladder — about 40 to 50 feet off the ground — while responding to a fire in the 200 block of West Saratoga Street on Monday, Baltimore City Fire Department Chief James Wallace said in a news conference earlier this week. Dranbauer fell backward on the ladder and was later taken to Shock Trauma, where he was initially listed in critical condition. Officials have not said what the medical emergency was.

Dranbauer, a 23-year veteran of the department, remains on life support and is “not expected to recover,” the fire department said Thursday on social media.

“It is with great sadness that we were made aware that the injuries suffered are too catastrophic to sustain life. As such, Lt. Dranbauer has elected to continue to save lives,” his family wrote in a statement posted on social media Wednesday night by the Baltimore Fire Officers IAFF Local 964.

“He is currently on life support, allowing time for his organs to be carefully prepared for donation, in accordance with his selfless wishes,” the post read. “Even after death, Lt. Dranbauer continues to think of others as his tissues and organs will be donated and will save an estimated 70 lives.”

The department said Thursday that Dranbauer served “with courage, honor, and unwavering commitment” on Engine Company 5, which is based at the Roman A. Kaminski Fire Station in Southeast Baltimore. The station was quiet Thursday morning as colleagues began sharing tributes on social media.

Dranbauer’s “leadership, compassion, and dedication to his fellow firefighters and the community will never be forgotten,” the department said.

Those who worked with Dranbauer in the fire service described him as a kind, respectful colleague.

“He’s funny, but in a dry way,” said Bernice Franchetti, who worked as Dranbauer’s partner on a medic unit over a decade ago and described him as a “wonderful person.”

Dranbauer’s “impact will forever be felt in the lives of those he protected in the line of duty,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said in a statement.

Wallace called the Dranbauer family “a firefighting family,” noting that the fire lieutenant has relatives in emergency services.

“He comes from that bloodline,” he said.

Dranbauer, a Cecil County resident with roots in Eastern Baltimore County, is a member at the Water Witch Volunteer Fire Company in Port Deposit, the department said on social media.

He also has family members who volunteer at the Rosedale Volunteer Fire Company, where the department is “still processing this terrible turn of events,” Danny Ciapura, a firefighter and EMT there, said in an email.

The fire lieutenant also has a 5-year-old son, James, according to the fire union, which is raising funds for Dranbauer’s family “to defray the costs associated with his hospitalization and any related expenses.”

Crews responded to the fire at the Beauty of a Woman salon on Saratoga Street about 12:30 p.m. Monday, according to fire department spokesperson John Marsh.

The fire was under control about an hour later. In addition to Dranbauer, another firefighter was injured at the scene. That firefighter, who has not been named, was treated at Mercy Medical Center and released earlier this week, according to an official with the union.

Funeral services for Dranbauer will be announced at a later date, his family said.

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