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LODD: Ill. firefighter dies after suffering medical emergency while returning from call

Firefighter John Mike Cummins was returning from a call when he suffered a medical problem and crashed into three other vehicles

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Firefighter John Mike Cummins.

Photo/Homer Fire Department

By FireRescue1 Staff

HOMER, Ill. — A firefighter died after responding to a fire call after suffering a medical problem and crashing his vehicle Wednesday.

Officials said firefighter John Mike Cummins was returning from to a vehicle crash call with another firefighter late Tuesday night.

“He said he wasn’t feeling well,” Homer Fire Chief Don Happ said of Cummins, who had recently had a blood clot removed from his leg.

Chief Happ told The News-Gazette that Cummins passed out and hit three vehicles before coming to a stop. The other firefighter in the car was able to jump out.

Cummins was transported to the hospital, where he later died.

Chief Happ said Cummins had worked at the department for two and a half years, but had been working as a volunteer firefighter for other departments since he was 18.

“He never missed a call, never missed a training. He tried to make it to everything we did. Whatever kind of thing we had going on, whether it was cooking for a fundraiser, he was there,” Chief Happ said.

Funeral arrangements for Cummins are underway; an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.

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Editor’s note: The story has been updated to clarify that firefighter John Mike Cummings was driving back from a call when he suffered a medical problem and crashed into three other vehicles.

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