KINLOCH, Mo. — A fire captain in Mo. died Friday after being on life support for nearly a month following a successful fire rescue.
Capt. Richard Parks, 47, a 31-year veteran of the Kinloch Fire Protection District, suffered a medical emergency at the station after returning from a fire where a 16-year-old was rescued April 16. He died in hospice care Friday, according to STL Today.
“He was the life of our firehouse,” Capt. Mike Bowman said. “It’s not like home anymore.”
Capt. Bowman told STL Today that Capt. Parks’ duties had been purely administrative for the past year due to a hospitalization and medical issues.
He drove the fire truck to the scene in April, officials said, because a battalion chief was running late. He started feeling ill and left shortly thereafter.
Capt. Parks also lived at the firehouse. His brother, Chief Darran Kelley, tried to convince him to get his own apartment, but Capt. Bowman said he stepped in.
“I was adamant that he stay so we could help him” if he needed medical care, he said. “The firehouse is where he lived.”