According to a report from Edgar County Coroner Peter Templeton, at 8:44 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 31, 911 dispatchers were notified of a residence fire on East 1400th Road in Embarrass Township. Among the first to respond from the Brocton Department was Gary L. Cummins, 61, of Brocton. Brocton Fire Protection District was dispatched at 8:45 p.m. and arrived at the scene at 8:54 p.m.
Templeton reported that Cummins was in the process of moving the fire department vehicle in which he arrived when the truck left the road erratically and came to rest in the north ditch. A check of the vehicle revealed Cummins unconscious inside the cab. Edgar County Special Service Area Ambulance was already present at the scene and immediately began efforts at resuscitation.
Cummins was transported to the emergency room of Paris Community Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 9:41 p.m. by hospital staff.
Brocton Fire Department Chief Virgil Haynes said that Cummins had been with the department for 41 years, and had worked with the Embarrass Township Highway Department for years.
“I’ve been working with him since I started 20 years ago,” said Haynes. “Gary was well-liked. He was always here when we needed him. When push came to shove, he was there. We lost a good, valuable person in the department and the community.”
Templeton reported that fellow firefighters stated that Cummins did not exhibit any obvious signs of distress prior to the incident, but did not appear to be in control of the vehicle at the time it left the roadway. The incident occurred within minutes of Cummins’ arrival. Cummins had not entered the residence, nor had he otherwise engaged in actively fighting the blaze.
Templeton ordered an autopsy to be performed Monday by Terre Haute Forensic Pathologist Roland Kohr, M.D. The incident remains under investigation by the Edgar County Coroner.
The structure fire that firefighters responded to at 1705 East 1400th Road was a total loss. Haynes said that the structure, a house, was a “total loss,” but that the family living there got out safely. Brocton, Redmon, Oakland, and Kansas Fire Departments responded to the incident.
Haynes said that services for Cummins are still pending with Krabel Funeral Home in Chrisman.
Republished with permission of The Paris Beacon-News.
