A Clallam County fire captain was found dead in his bunk Thursday morning.
Capt. Charles 'Chad' Cate, 46, was found by his crew hours after he had responded to a fire alarm, according to Peninsula Daily News.
Cate was last seen after a response to a fire alarm activation at a commercial building at about 2.25 a.m. when he returned to the station.
Crews went to bed following the early morning call. Later, after apparently heading back out to the site of an earlier house fire in the Dungeness neighborhood, he texted a fellow captain and the duty chief at around 4 a.m. to say that all was well at the scene, the station reported.
Members of his crew found him dead in his bunk about 7 a.m.
He had been with the department for 25 years.
The cause of death is pending.
Cate was raised in the area and graduated from Sequim High School where he has continued to be involved as the wrestling coach.
He was hired by the district in 1997 as a firefighter/paramedic and promoted to the rank of captain in 2020.
Cate leaves behind his wife, a 2-year-old son and two adult children.
