United States Fire Administration
4 June 2026
EMMITSBURG, Md. — The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has announced the on-duty death of Engineer George “Bud” Turner, 84, of the West Whiteland Fire Company on 23 May 2026.
During the day of May 23, 2026, Engineer George “Bud” Turner responded to multiple emergency calls including a barn fire as well as an investigation into a strange odor. In the evening that same day, Engineer Turner attended the fire department’s awards banquet. As he was driving home after leaving the banquet, Engineer Turner experienced a medical emergency and crashed his vehicle. Engineer Turner was pronounced deceased at the scene of the crash.
Age: 84
Rank: Engineer
Classification: Volunteer
Incident date: May 23, 2026 3:00 PM
Date of death: May 23, 2026
Cause of fatal injury: Unknown
Nature of fatal injury: Unknown
Activity type: Other
Emergency duty: Yes
Duty type: On-Scene Non-Fire
Fixed property use: Residential
The number of on-duty deaths for 2026 is currently 30.
Go here to read the number of interior line of duty deaths for 2026.
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.”
Photo courtesy of the West Whiteland Fire Company/Facebook.
Data Not Drama 