USFA LODD: Tennessee Fire Lieutenant On-Duty Death Notification 04.17.2016

While operating at the scene of a residential structure fire on April 16, 2016 at 2334hrs, Lieutenant Rodney Eddins, 57, collapsed from a nature of fatal injury still to be determined. Fellow firefighters removed Lieutenant Eddins from the structure and rushed him to Methodist South Hospital in critical condition where he succumbed to his injury on April 17, 2017. Fire crews determined the blaze started from a malfunctioning portable fan in the bedroom. There was not a working smoke alarm in the house, but two adults and four children at the home were uninjured.

      

Our condolences to the Eddins Family & Friends, Memphis Fire Department, and to all affected by Lieutenant Rodney Eddins’ passing.

    

To date, 21 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2016. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Fatality Notices page. 

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.) 

USFA LODD: Maryland Firefighter On-Duty Death Notification 04.15.2016

On April 15, 2016 at 1930hrs, Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department (PGFD) responded to a home for a welfare check call regarding a man with medical conditions that had not responded to relatives attempting to contact him. After arriving on scene, checking for any open doors or windows, and after making themselves known several times, firefighters forced entrance to the residence. As they entered the home, the resident fired several gun shots striking PGFD Firefighter/Paramedic John E. Ulmschneider, Morningside Volunteer Firefighter Kevin Swain, and the relative who had originally called for help. After being transported to the hospital, Firefighter/Paramedic Paramedic John E. Ulmschneider, 37, succumbed to his injuries. Firefighter Swain remains hospitalized in serious but stable condition. Police said the resident of the home believed his house was being broken into and fired in self-defense. No charges have been filed. Investigation into the fatal incident continues by authorities.

      

Our condolences to the Ulmschneider Family & Friends, Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department, and to all affected by Firefighter/Paramedic Paramedic John E. Ulmschneider’s passing.

    

To date, 20 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2016. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Fatality Notices page. 

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.) 

USFA LODD: Alabama Firefighter On-Duty Death Notification 04.02.2016

On March 30, 2016 at 1500hrs, Firefighter Charles M. Tucker, 56,  responded from home with his son, Austin, a 16-year-old Junior Member of Lynn Fire & Rescue, to a grass and woods fire on Winston County Road 37. Once units cleared the fire scene, Firefighter Tucker was driving with his son back home when, for a cause still to be determined, their privately owned pickup truck veered off of the highway and struck an empty logging trailer parked nearby. Lynn Fire & Rescue and other emergency services responded to the scene finding both occupants badly injured and entrapped in the vehicle. After extensive extrication efforts, Firefighter Tucker and his son were flown by medical helicopter to UAB Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama. Firefighter Charles M. Tucker succumbed to his injuries sustained in the early morning hours of April 2, 2016. Junior Firefighter Austin Tucker remains in UAB Children’s Hospital recovering from his injuries. The fatal accident is under investigation by the Alabama Highway Patrol.

      

Our condolences to the Tucker Family & Friends, Lynn Fire & Rescue, and to all affected by Firefighter Charles M. Tucker’s passing.

    

To date, 19 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2016. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Fatality Notices page. 

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.) 

USFA LODD: Texas Firefighter On-Duty Death Notification 03.31.2016

Cadet Steven Whitfield II, 32, was hired by the Houston Fire Department on October 26, 2015, and was a member of Class 2015-G that will graduate in June 2016. On March 31, 2016, Cadet Whitfield collapsed during obstacle course training at the Houston Fire Department Val Jahnke Training Facility. Other cadets, as well as a medic crew, immediately began CPR and tried to lower his body temperature. He was then transported to the Memorial Hermann Texas Trauma Institute where, despite the resuscitation efforts of the medical staff, Cadet Steven Whitfield II was pronounced dead at 1248hrs. The cause of death is still under investigation.

      

Our condolences to the Whitfield Family & Friends, Houston Fire Department, and to all affected by Cadet Steven WhitfieldII’s passing.

    

To date, 18 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2016. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Fatality Notices page. 

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)