A firefighter from a community south of Kansas City died Sunday morning when the floor beneath him collapsed during a residential fire.
KSHB News reports that crews were dispatched at around 11 a.m. to a home on Deer Run Road in Peculiar and that West Peculiar Fire Protection District firefighter Chuck McCormick, 30, fell through the floor and into the basement as he was entering the structure.
"(They) encountered quite a bit of fire, went inside the front door and the floor gave way," Grandview Fire Chief Ron Graham said.
McCormick suffered critical injuries and died later at a hospital. According to KSHB, McCormick, who is survived by a wife and three children, had been with the fire protection district for only three weeks.
“Our hearts go out to the family of the firefighter lost and the entire West Peculiar Fire Department,” the Kansas City Fire Department said.
An investigation into the fire is ongoing.