Beloved photographer for Detroit Fire Department dead at 87

(FOX 2) - Hearts are heavy within the Detroit Fire Department after losing their longtime photographer and beloved friend at the age of 87. 

Bill Eisner was both a "big deal but down to Earth," Lt. Shannon Moran said, tears welling up in her eyes. "He was just a nice man."

"I'm going to miss him. A lot of people are. It's hard."

Among those is Lt. Joe Palm, who remembers his first day on the job partly because of Eisner.

"My very first day in the firehouse, he was at my first fire. He said, ‘Palm, I got a picture of you.’ Within an hour - he would go get it printed at Costco or Sam’s Club and get it printed. ‘Here’s your first fire, kid.’"

Palm has a special connection to that first photograph - it was taken by the same man who photographed his dad when he was a firefighter. 

At the Squad Three Firehouse, photos taken by Eisner line the wall. It's not an official museum, but a testament to the work he did with the DFD.

"The fire department is a family, and sometimes you pull in people from the outside, and they hit. And he was one of them. He was definitely one of them, but he’s going to be around in history forever," said Moran.

In a statement, fire commissioner Charles Simms said Eisner "endeared himself to the firefighters in a way that no one else has. He will forever be remembered in their hearts, and they thank him for his love and dedication to the department."