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NM firefighter dies battling Texas wildfire

The firefighter collapsed while fighting the fire, according to a local TV station

By Bob Mims
The Salt Lake Tribune

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The Texas Forest Service has identified the Utah-based firefighter who collapsed while battling a blaze Thursday and later died.

TFS spokeswoman April Saginor said the victim, 24-year-old Caleb Hamm, actually was a resident of Boise, Idaho. He was attached to a Utah-based Bureau of Land Management firefighting crew, Saginor said.

Hamm apparently was overcome by 105-degree heat while fighting flames 5 miles northwest of Mineral Wells, about 50 miles west of Fort Worth. He was later pronounced dead at a Mineral Wells hospital.

The exact cause of death had not been determined.

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