Firefighter collapsed at home after fire
United States Fire Administration
The U.S. Fire Administration has announced the official on-duty death of Firefighter Zachary S. Blankenship, 26, of the Montcalm Volunteer Fire Department on March 15, 2020.
On Thursday, March 5, 2020, Firefighter Zachary S. Blankenship and the Montcalm Volunteer Fire Department responded to a fire at a residential structure. Upon returning home, approximately 5 hours later, he collapsed. Blankenship was immediately taken to the Bluefield Regional Medical Center where it was determined he suffered a stroke. He was later flown to a hospital in Roanoke, Virginia. Blankenship was pronounced deceased at 1442hrs on Sunday, March 15, 2020.
Tribute is being paid to Firefighter Blankenship at http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/
To date, 17 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2020. Year-to-date and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/ff_fatality_reports.html
Fatality status is provisional and may change as USFA contacts State Fire Marshals to verify fatality incident information.
