Roll of Honor
Francis William Wilt, Jr.
Incident
Lieutenant Bill Wilt suffered a fatal heart attack while rescuing a family from a burning house at 5:45 AM. Lieutenant Wilt was en route to begin the 6:00 AM shift at the Western Penitentiary in the Woods Run section of Pittsburgh when he noticed a house on fire on the city's Northside at 400 Chautauqa Street.
Upon seeing the fire, he immediately exited his vehicle, activated a nearby fire alarm, and then entered the home. He awoke and evacuated the five family members from the home. As he carried the last child out of the home he collapsed on the front steps.
Lieutenant Wilt had served with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections for 19 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and eight children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-PA-C306BD63- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Lieutenant Wilt gave the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections 19 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Pennsylvania. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Lieutenant Wilt.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Lieutenant Francis William Wilt, Jr. is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In PA, 118 of 1,261 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 9.4% of this state's fallen. That is 5.4 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
At Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, 2 of 18 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 11.1% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Francis William Wilt, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Francis William Wilt, Jr. Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Francis William Wilt, Jr. is highlighted in May.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
17 officers from Pennsylvania Department of Corrections are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
