Odessa, TX, Firefighter Dies after Suffering Head Injury Last Month

Odessa firefighter/paramedic Eric Handlin suffered a head injury on-duty last month.
Sept. 6, 2026
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Odessa Fire Rescue firefighter/paramedic Eric Handlin, 53, suffered a head injury at the fire station last month.

Odessa Fire Rescue firefighter/paramedic Eric Handlin, 53, suffered a head injury at the fire station last month.

Odessa Fire Rescue is mourning the death of firefighter who died weeks after he was injured. In June, one of their firefighters perished in a trailer fire.

Firefighter/Paramedic Eric Handlin died Friday evening, according to a statement from the fire department. 

Handlin, 53, celebrated his 25th anniversary with the fire deparment on July 2.

According to NewsWest9.com, Handlin suffered a serious head injury during an Aug. 21 incident.

"Eric dedicated a significant part of his life to serving OFR and the Odessa community, and his loss is deeply felt by his family, friends, current members, and our retired OFR family," the department shared.

On June 14, Lt. Isai Huerta, 29, died while battling a trailer fire.

 

 

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Peter Matthews
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Peter Matthews

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Peter Matthews is the editor-in-chief of Firehouse. He has worked at Firehouse since 1999, serving in various roles on both Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com staffs. He completed an internship with the Rochester, NY, Fire Department and served with fire departments in Rush, NY, and Laurel, MD, and was a lieutenant with the Glenwood Fire Company in Glenwood Landing, NY. Matthews served as photographer for the St. Paul, MN, Fire Department and currently is a photographer for the Fort Worth, TX, Fire Department.        

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