United States Fire Administration
10 June 2026
EMMITSBURG, Md. — The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has announced the on-duty death of Chief Harold Osborn, 51 , of the Seelyville Volunteer Fire Department on 9 June 2026.
On June 8, 2026, at approximately 8:00 p.m., Chief Harold Osborn and members of his fire department responded to a medical emergency that required manually lifting a patient. A few hours after the response, Chief Osborn’s wife found him experiencing a cardiovascular event at his home and immediately initiated CPR. Emergency personnel responded to the home and transported Chief Osborn to a local hospital where, despite all efforts, he was pronounced deceased on June 9, 2026.
Age: 51
Rank: Chief
Classification: Volunteer
Incident date: June 8, 2026 8:00 PM
Date of death: June 9, 2026
Cause of fatal injury: Stress/Overexertion
Nature of fatal injury: Cardiovascular Event/Heart Attack
Activity type: EMS/Patient Care
Emergency duty: Yes
Duty type: On-Scene Non-Fire
Fixed property use: Residential
The number of on-duty deaths for 2026 is currently 32.
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 Vigo County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook.
Data Not Drama 