Memphis Loses Third Firefighter in Off-duty Incident

A Memphis firefighter died in an off-duty incident Monday, marking the third such fatality in the department in recent weeks.

According to an official of the firefighters union, Tina Mathenia, 46, was a 15-year veteran of the department. She appeared to have health issues, firefighters union head Thomas Malone said, that led to her death. No other details were available late Monday.

That follows the death of Lt. Brent McKinness, 41, who was killed in a single-car accident in Arkansas on June 25. Arkansas State Police said McKinness was killed when the vehicle he was driving on Interstate 555 in Poinsett County went off the road and overturned.

Also, on June 11, Brian Malone died in a diving exercise in Arkansas. He was about 100 feet under water when he became confused and swam toward the bottom of the lake, where he and other divers were practicing. His diving instructor brought him back to the surface, where CPR was performed, but he died later at a hospital. Malone had been with the department since April 1996.

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