78-year-old firefighter was on his third wildfire call of the day
United States Fire Administration
The U.S. Fire Administration has announced the official on-duty death of Firefighter/Paramedic Dennis M. Bender, 78, of the Ponca Hills Volunteer Fire Department on March 10, 2021.
On Wednesday, March 10, 2021, Firefighter/Paramedic Dennis M. Bender responded to the third wildland fire call of the day. He suffered a medical emergency at the scene and was immediately taken to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased. The cause of his death is under investigation.
Tribute is being paid to Firefighter/Paramedic Bender at http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/
To date, 28 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2021. Year-to-date and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/ff_fatality_reports.html
Fatality status is provisional and may change as USFA contacts State Fire Marshals to verify fatality incident information.
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