STRATTANVILLE, Pa. --
A funeral service was held Thursday for a Clarion County firefighter who collapsed and died at the scene of a fire earlier in the week in Strattanville.
Ryan Wingard, 28, died of natural causes while battling the blaze on Monday morning.
Strattanville Fire Chief Bill Stroup said Wingard complained to another firefighter of a headache and then collapsed. He was pronounced dead at Clarion Hospital.
Stroup said it was the company's first death in the line of duty in the department's 71 years.
"It's heartfelt for all the departments here, especially those who have lost firefighters in the line of duty. Today we're here to pay our respects," said Chief Mark Lauer of the Unionville Fire Department.
Wingard, a 2000 graduate of Clarion-Limestone High School, joined the Fire Department last year. He was a former member of the Knox Fire Department.
His survivors include his parents, Dennis C. and Sharlene R. Minnick Wingard of Strattanville, and his wife, the former Lynn Ishman. They were married in May 2001.
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