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    1. Safety & Health

    WV Firefighter Dies of COVID Complications

    Feb. 2, 2021
    Weirton Fire Lt. Brian Ritchie, 50, had been with the department for 13 years and was also assistant chief with the Hooverson Heights Volunteer Fire Department.

    Source Firehouse.com News

    Weirton, WV, Firefighters IAFF, Local 948
    Weirton, WV, Fire Department Lt. Brian Ritchie, 50.
    Weirton, WV, Fire Department Lt. Brian Ritchie, 50.

    Editor's note: Find Firehouse.com's complete coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic here.

    A West Virginia firefighter died Tuesday of complications of COVID-19.

    Lt. Brian Ritchie, 50, had been with the Weirton Fire Department for 13 years, the firefighters union stated in an online update. He had been on a ventilator after contracting COVID-19 while on duty on Dec. 17, according to WTRF-TV.

    Ritchie also was the assistant chief with the Hooverson Heights Volunteer Fire Department. 

    With great disbelief and sorrow that the officers and members of the Hooverson Heights Volunteer Fire Department...

    Posted by Hooverson Heights Volunteer Fire Department on Tuesday, February 2, 2021

    A GoFundMe page had been set up for Ritchie's 17-year-old son and longtime girlfriend.

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