Incident Name:
Date: 4/29/08
Personnel: Jeremy L. Jylka
Age: 34
Agency/Organization: Pine City Fire Department, Minnesota
Position: Paid-on-Call Firefighter
Summary: Firefighter Jylka had just completed his first year of service with the Pine City Fire Department. The department was paged to respond to a grass fire. Firefighter Jylka responded to the fire station, donned his personal protective clothing, and was directed by the Captain in charge to ride in the passenger seat of the department’s grass truck.
As the apparatus proceeded to the scene, the driver of the truck noticed that Firefighter Jylka was gasping for air and was in obvious distress. The driver requested an ambulance and returned to the fire station.
Firefighter Jylka was treated and transported but did not survive. The cause of death was listed as a heart attack.
Maps
Pine City MN Fire Department Station
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Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- USFA Memorial Database: Jeremy L Jylka
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Wildlandfire.com Links:
- Hotlist Thread posted on 5/7/2008:MN-Pine City-Firefighter Dies While Responding To A Grass Fire
Media Articles and Reports.
- Pine City Firefighter Dies Responding To A Call
PINE CITY, Minn. (WCCO)May 1, 2008 | Online Article at WCCO.com no longer available.Jeremy Jylka, 34, died while responding to a fire call on April 29, 2008.
A Pine City firefighter died Tuesday while responding to a fire. Jeremy Jylka, 34, was on his way to a grassfire with a crew when he had a medical problem. The other members of his crew turned around and brought him back to the fire station.
Firefighters did CPR, but Jylka died at the hospital. Authorities don’t know yet what caused his death. Jylka is survived by his wife, Kelly, and his daughter, Anica. Jylka joined the Pine City Fire Department in 2007.
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
- Minnesota Fallen Firefighters Memorial Dayposted October 5th, 2009 by pinecitykid
Beginning this year, the first Sunday in October is declared Minnesota Fallen Firefighters Memorial Day. Therefore, on Sunday, Firefighters and families from across the United States gathered to honor 103 firefighters who died in 2008 and 19 from other years. Among the honored: Jeremy Jylka of the Pine City Fire Department, who made the ultimate sacrifice on Apr. 26, 2008. His name and the other firefighters’ names were added to a white stone monument on the mountaintop campus of the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
On average, 100 United States firefighters make the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty each year; and since 1881, 187 Minnesota firefighters have died in the line of duty. National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Chairman Dennis Compton said the foundation was honored and humbled to remember the fallen heroes and the sacrifices of those left behind. Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn) ordered that all U.S. and Minnesota flags be flown at half-staff at the capitol building.
Compliments of Pine City Community Blog
Contributors to this article: Scott Roberts
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