United States Fire Administration
28 January 2025
The United States Fire Administration has announced the death of Medical Captain Roger Lathrop, 52 of the Big Elm Volunteer Fire Department on 23 January 2025.
On Thursday, January 23, 2025, Medical Captain Roger Lathrop arrived at the station to respond to a residential structure fire. He was in the tanker when he suffered a medical emergency and was found by fellow firefighters. He was immediately transported to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased from a cardiovascular event.
Age: 52
Rank: Medical Captain
Classification: Volunteer
Incident date: Jan. 23, 2025 1:15 AM
Date of death: Jan. 23, 2025
Cause of fatal injury: Stress/Overexertion
Nature of fatal injury: Cardiovascular Event/Heart Attack
Activity type: Driving/Operating Vehicle/Apparatus
Emergency duty: Yes
Duty type: Responding
Fixed property use: Residential
The number of on-duty deaths for 2025 currently is 6.
Go here to read the number of interior line of duty deaths for 2025.
Fatality status is provisional and may change as USFA contacts State Fire Marshals to verify fatality incident information.
For more information about on-duty deaths as recorded by the United States Fire Administration go to “Firefighter Fatalities in the United States.”
Data Not Drama 