The U.S. Fire Administration has announced the official on-duty death of Captain Cory Barr, 34, of the Sun Prairie Volunteer Fire Department on July 10, 2018.
Captain Cory Barr responded with crews to a report of a natural gas leak after a contractor struck a natural gas main in downtown Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. After the firefighters, along with law enforcement, arrived on scene to investigate the source of the leak and evacuate the area, there was an explosion that leveled multiple buildings. Captain Barr suffered injuries after being knocked down under a rubble pile as a result of the explosion and was transported by Sun Prairie EMS to UW Madison where he later passed away. A second firefighter was also injured in the explosion and is in critical, but stable, condition. A third firefighter with a minor injury was also admitted to a hospital. Three additional firefighters, one police officer, and seven civilians also suffered minor injuries.
Tribute is being paid to Captain Barr at http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/
To date, 52 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2018. 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.
