Oakridge, Oregon firefighters responded to an emotionally charged incident last Friday when their own fire chief died while kayaking with his 10-year-old son.
Chief Mark Sundin and his son Alex had passed through rapids on the Willamette River near West Fir when their kayak overturned and the two became separated, said EMS Capt. Scott Hollett.
The chief's son made it to shore and blew his emergency whistle until a passerby stopped to call 911, Hollett said.
At about the same time, a family friend who was scheduled to pick up the father and son got worried when they missed their meeting time, and came to the fire station to alert the members.
Hollett estimated that about one hour had passed between the time the kayak overturned and the time officials were alerted. The responding agencies included county search and rescue, state and local police, and the fire department, which responded with a rescue vehicle and an ambulance.
Firefighters took Alex to the home of a family friend during the search, Hollett said. Alex thought he was just separated from his father, but about two hours later, an Oakridge police officer located the chief's body. Rescuers tried to resuscitate him and transported him to McKenzie-Willamette hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Hollett said the department has had one other incident where they had to respond to one of their own, when a volunteer member suffered a cardiac arrest two years ago.
"It's terrible," he said. "It's a cycle. You go from disbelief to being angry, to being depressed, to dealing with it."
Chief Sundin, 46, had been with the department for 24 years and served as chief for the past three years. In addition to his youngest son, he is also survived by his wife, Carmen, and two older sons.
"He had a great way of getting things done. He was able to direct without being a micro-manager, and he was an easy person to talk to and get along with," Hollett said. "He's going to be greatly, greatly missed."
The Oakridge Fire Department has five full time firefighter/paramedics and 40 volunteers, and serves an area of approximately 2500 sq. miles.
A memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. Monday at the Oakridge High School football field.
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