By Kristin Hoppa
The St. Joseph News-Press
TRENTON, Mo. — A Northwest Missouri community mourned the unexpected loss of a hometown hero after a sky-diving accident over the weekend.
Lt. Eric Lorenz, a veteran fire fighter with more than a decade’s worth of experience in Trenton, died in a sky-diving accident Saturday near Lexington, Mo., when a parachute malfunctioned. Although the incident remained under investigation, Fire Chief Rick Morris said the shocking loss struck a nerve with the entire community.
“Out of my 42 years in fire service, he was one of the best of the best,” Mr. Morris said of Mr. Lorenz. “He was my training officer here, and he set the standard and the bar very high.”
Known as the “inside guy,” the 30-year-old, father of two, would respond to an interior of a structure fire and search for victims. Mr. Morris said Mr. Lorenz never strayed away from work and would grab a hose, fight a fire and felt strongly about the use of smoke detectors and fire education to keep families safe in his hometown.
“He could have gone anywhere with the certifications he had and I asked him when I said, ‘Lieutenant, you realize with your certifications, you could command much higher wages at another department,’” Mr. Morris recalled. “He looked at me and you could tell in his eyes when he said, ‘Yes, but it’s not home.’”
A fan of sports, teaching young children about fire safety and watching his 3-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son grow were large joys in his life, Mr. Morris said.
Last October, the Trenton Fire Department responded to another tragic scene when then 50-year-old David Call shot and killed a female in Trenton home and lit the house on fire. In May, fire crews also responded to a Trenton house fire where four young children died in the blaze.
“We had an arson homicide earlier this year and our guys went in the middle of that ... and we had a house fire here that claimed the lives of four small children and that was very hard,” he said. “And now, losing Lt. Lorenz, it is definitely been a rough year for us.”
Applauding Mr. Lorenz skills and experience with the local fire department, rural fire department, mutual aid trucks and emergency medical serivices, Mr. Morris said he envisioned Mr. Lorenz becoming chief of the Trenton Fire Department in the future. He said the community truly lost an asset this weekend.
“We can’t replace him and it is going to leave a hole in this department for a long time,” Mr. Morris said. “He was a leader in this community and he cared about everyone in this town.”
Trenton Mayor Nick McHargue ordered flag at half-staff in honor of Mr. Lorenz. His funeral, planned to be arranged by the Whitaker-Eads Funeral Home in Trenton, has no been scheduled.
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