Line-of-Duty Deaths, 1999
April 27: Deputy State Fire Marshal Wilbur H. Strait, Jr., 56, of the State Fire Marshal`s Office, Medford, Oregon, died after suffering an unknown type of attack while on duty.
April 28: Captain David J. Watts, 57, of the Nantucket (MA) Fire Department, died of an apparent heart attack after fighting a fire in a restaurant.
May 2: Firefighter Kenneth A. Strain, 28, a six-year veteran of the Hemby Ridge (NC) Volunteer Fire Department, was killed when the apparatus in which he was returning to quarters left the roadway and struck a tree.
May 3: Firefighter Eric Casiano, 41, a seven-year veteran of the Philadelphia (PA) Fire Department, died after collapsing in quarters after returning from a house fire.
May 14: Captain Louis Williams, 47, a 17-year veteran of the Fort Oglethorp (GA) Fire Department, died after collapsing at the scene of a trench rescue.
May 30: Firefighter Anthony Phillips, 30, a four-year veteran of the Washington, DC, Fire Department, died after being caught in an apparent flashover while battling a two-alarm fire in a townhouse.
May 31: Firefighter Lewis J. Matthews, 29, a seven-year veteran of the Washington, DC, Fire Department, died after being caught in an apparent flashover while fighting a two-alarm fire in a townhouse.
