A Pascoag volunteer firefighter who died Wednesday after being rushed from the scene of a chimney fire is being remembered as a generous, spirited man who was dedicated to helping others.
Lt. Richard Jenks collapsed outside a home on Hill Road, Deputy Chief Keith Carter said, after tripping and falling inside.
Jenks, 72, was helped up by his fellow firefighters and brought outside to be checked out by EMTs. The other firefighters said Jenks wanted to go back inside to help fight the fire, but he then collapsed.
”He refused right until the last minute,” Carter said. “He always put himself behind the next person in front of him.”
CPR was performed on Jenks before he was taken to Landmark Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The cause of his death is pending the results of an autopsy by the state medical examiner’s office.