First Report: Tenn. Firefighter Dies After Sustaining Head Injuries at Training Exercise
LORETTO, Tenn -- Hundreds of firefighters and law enforcement personnel gathered Tuesday to honor Jason Lee Ellis, a firefighter and Lawrence County deputy who died recently because of injuries he suffered in an accident after a training exercise.
The accident happened May 18 on the campus of the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy in Bell Buckle. After a live-fire training exercise, Ellis, 29, hitched a ride to another part of the academy in a pickup truck owned by a fellow Loretto firefighter.
According to an accident report, Ellis slipped off the flatbed of the truck and struck his head on the road. He was treated at the scene, then flown to Vanderbilt University Medical Center by helicopter. Ellis suffered serious head injuries and died Saturday in Vanderbilt.
"It was just a tragic accident," said Paula Wade, spokeswoman for the State Fire Marshal's Office.
Firefighters, police and emergency medical technicians from departments across Middle Tennessee came to the funeral, held at Loretto High School.
Ellis was a sergeant with the sheriff's department who worked his way up through the ranks, said Sheriff William Dorning. He served as a drug awareness officer in local schools for five years before he moved on to become a training officer. In his spare time, he volunteered at the fire department.
"He was the most conscientious, non-judgmental person you could ever be around," Dorning said. ...You never heard him talk about people. If the whole world was like Jason, you wouldn't need a sheriff's department".
During the funeral, Chad Moore, Ellis' pastor, asked the youth in attendance to stand if they had been influenced by the firefighter. As several teenagers stood, Moore addressed the crowd and Ellis' pregnant wife.
"To these young people, Jason Ellis was a hero."
Dorning said he was saddened by the Ellis' loss, but that the way he died was fitting with the way he lived.
"It was Jason," he said. "It did him more good to help people than anyone you've seen."
