The fire chief of the Tagish Volunteer Fire Department in Yukon, Canada died Aug. 23 while en route to the scene of a previous fire, according to The Whitehorse Star.
Fire Chief Kurt Gantner, 49, was in the department's first responder truck when it left the road.
Officials said that the exact cause of his death is unknown and is currently being investigated.
"I don't think we fully appreciated the sense of confidence you got by having someone like that on the team," Firefighter Paul Dabbs told the newspaper. "If there was ever anything you needed to know, he was always there to ask."
Gantner spent three years as fire chief after moving from Germany in 2006 where he served as a firefighter.
He is survived by his wife, Jutta.
A memorial was scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 30 at the Tagish Firehall.
