United States Fire Administration
15 July 2026
EMMITSBURG, Md. — The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has announced the on-duty death of Fire Police Officer Donald “Butch” Van Deursen, 78, of the Middlebush Volunteer Fire Department on 16 June 2026.
Fire Police Officer Donald “Butch” Van Deursen responded to two calls on June 15, 2026, the last being a fire alarm activation that came in at 11:43 a.m. to which he responded and stood by at the station. At approximately 7:50 a.m. on June 16, 2026, Fire Police Officer Van Deursen collapsed at his home and was pronounced deceased there a short time later. Fire Police Officer Van Deursen was the former fire chief of Middlebush Volunteer Fire Department.
Age: 78
Rank: Fire Police Officer
Classification: Volunteer
Incident date: June 15, 2026 11:43 AM
Date of death: June 16, 2026
Cause of fatal injury: Stress/Overexertion
Nature of fatal injury: Unknown
Activity type: Standby
Emergency duty: Yes
Duty type: Other On-Duty
Fixed property use:
The number of on-duty deaths for 2026 is currently 42.
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 Middlebush Volunteer Fire Department/Facebook.
Data Not Drama 