FORT CALHOUN, Neb. (AP) — A volunteer with a fire department in the Omaha area has died while helping fight a brush fire near Fort Calhoun.
Dennis Bender was a volunteer with the Ponca Hills Fire Department.
Ponca Hills Fire Chief Joel Sacks says Bender suffered a medical emergency on Wednesday as he helped battle the large blaze in in Washington County fueled by dry brush and strong winds.
Bender was one of dozens of crews from several department called in to help.
Sacks says Bender was one of the state's longest-serving paramedics and had served in the department for 50 years.