April 19: Firefighter-President Woodrow Poland, Sr., of the North River Valley Volunteer Fire Company, Rio, West Virginia, was found dead from head and neck trauma, possibly from a fall, in a fire department substation, where he had been performing maintenance work on the plumbing.
April 24: Lieutenant James Rupkey, 58, of the Troy (MI) Fire Department, collapsed and died from an apparent heart attack while participating in search and rescue training. He was wearing full turnout gear and SCBA.
May 9: Firefighter Alberto Tirado, 40, of the Passaic (NJ) Fire Department, died when be became trapped while searching for potential fire victims in a burning apartment building.
Source: National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Database, United States Fire Administration.
