The death of Appleton Firefighter Mitch Lundgaard in the first for the department in 86 years.
He’s also the fourth in history to be killed in the line of duty.
Department records show Firefighter Louis McGillan died on March 28, 1933. While crews were going to a fire call in the early morning, the fire truck skidded on Oneida Street and hit a telephone pole. McGillan died from head injuries.
In 1929, 2nd Assistant Fire Chief Michael Calnin died from burns he suffered when grease from a burning kettle spilled onto him at a bakery on W. College Avenue. Three other firefighters were also burned.
The department’s first on-duty death was in 1901. Fire Chief Elmer Anderson brought a crew to Kimberly to fight a fire at the paper mill. Anderson was working in tight quarters when he suffered a heart attack.
