A St. Charles firefighter was found dead by colleagues in his bed at a firehouse Wednesday morning.
Firefighter Douglas "Doug" Haase, 60, apparently died of natural causes, according to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
He had fallen asleep following a call late Tuesday night and firefighters found him slumped in his bed around 7 a.m. before his shift was set to end at 7:30 a.m., department spokesman Dan Casey told the newspaper.
"It was a big shock to everybody," he said. "He was an all-around good guy."
Haase was a firefighter/paramedic/engineer and worked for the department for 27 years.
Batallion Chief David Lewis described Haase as a calming presence.
"He was our Papa Smurf," he said. "He'd always have an ear for you, always have fatherly advice."
