IA Firefighter, 51, Dies at Station After Shift Ends

An Ames firefighter was found unresponsive in the fire station Friday morning after he stayed at the end of his shift to exercise.

According to a release from the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Steven Paul Buser was on duty on Thursday and had responded to a call at 7p.m. and finished his shift 12 hours later at 7 a.m. He stayed, by himself, at the end of the shift to exercise.

At about 9:30 a.m. this morning, someone entered the fire station and found him unresponsive, according to the USFA release. Buser was taken to the hospital were he was pronounced dead from a cause and nature yet to be determined. He was an 18-year veteran of the department.

To date, there have been 23 firefighter fatalities reported, according to the USFA.