Pa. Fire Chief Dies After Teaching At Wildfire Academy

Updated: Listed by the USFA on 10 June 2015.

At approximately 1:49 a.m. on June 5, Hickory Fire Department firefighters, including Firefighter Jake Bridges, were dispatched to a structure fire. The fire was extinguished, and firefighters cleared the scene at approximately 4:52 a.m.

After returning to the station, firefighters worked to get the truck back in service. At approximately 5:08 a.m., Firefighter Bridges experienced a medical emergency and was transported to a local hospital. Despite resuscitation efforts of his fellow firefighters, first responders, and medical personnel, Firefighter Bridges passed away.

Age: 20
Rank: Firefighter
Classification: Career
Incident date: June 5, 2025 1:49 AM
Date of death: June 5, 2025
Cause of fatal injury: Unknown
Nature of fatal injury: Unknown
Activity type: Other
Emergency duty: Yes
Duty type: Returning
Fixed property use: Residential

The number of on-duty deaths for 2025 is currently 37.

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.”

Earlier:

By Bill Carey
5 June 2025

DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. – David Warfel, chief of the Carsonville Volunteer Fire Company, died on May 29 after serving as an instructor at the Pennsylvania Wildland Fire Academy in Shippensburg.

According to the Cumberland County Coroner’s Office, Warfel, 57, died of natural causes related to a cardiac event, WHP reported.

Warfel also worked as a Forest District Maintenance Supervisor for the Weiser State Forest under the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Photograph courtesy of Minnich Funeral Home.