A volunteer firefighter in Indiana was found dead at his fire station hours after helping battle a barn fire.
The Star Press reports that Hamilton Township firefighter Jeffery Alan Blackmer, 42, apparently fell ill while cleaning equipment at the fire station after being part of a crew that doused a barn fire early Wednesday morning.
The fire was reported at 2:19 a.m. and Blackmer was last seen by fellow firefighters at about 5:30 a.m. The firefighter's fiancee, Emily Reid, became concerned when Blackmer did not answer his cell phone and alerted his colleagues, who found his body at the station around 9:45 a.m.
Blackmer was pronounced dead at the station by the Delaware County Coroner, who said preliminary indications were that the firefighter died of a cardiac event.
"He had a heart of gold," Hamilton Township Fire Chief Tim Baty told the Star Press. "He was dedicated to the community. ... He's going to be greatly missed."
Chief Baty said Blackmer had been with the department for only a year and had already provided more than 2,000 hours of service.
He leaves behind his fiancee, two children and several siblings, according to Fox 59.
