Honoring 4 Fallen Heroes

Honoring

Firefighter Douglas Thompson

Warren Township Volunteer Fire Department

EOW: Sept. 5, 2025 | Age: 65 | Tour: Unknown

On September 4, 2025, Firefighter Douglas Thompson participated in fire department training from 7 to 9 p.m. Within 24 hours of the training, Firefighter Thompson suffered a cardiac event at home and passed away.

Honoring

Deptuty Sheriff Andres Lahera

Citrus County Sheriff’s Office

EOW: Sept. 11, 2025 | Age: 53 | Tour: 14 Years

Deputy Sheriff Andy Lahera succumbed to injuries he received on May 23, 2023, when he was struck by a vehicle while directing traffic at the intersection of Saunders Way and South Lecanto Highway in Lecanto, Florida.

Around 9:05 p.m., Deputy Lahera was directing traffic after the graduation ceremony at Lecanto High School. Despite wearing a reflective vest, holding a flashlight, and having emergency lights activated on his patrol car, he was hit by a vehicle traveling southbound on South Lecanto Highway.

Deputy Lahera was airlifted to the hospital with a traumatic brain injury and internal injuries. He was later moved to a rehabilitation facility, where he passed away on September 11, 2025.

Deputy Lahera had served with the Citrus County Sheriff's Office for 14 years and was the Lecanto Middle School Resource Officer. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

Honoring

Firefighter/Equipment Operator Hank Hester

Dragon Bravo Fire, Southwest Area Incident Management Team 3

EOW: Sept. 8, 2025 | Age: 70 | Tour: N/A

On the afternoon of September 8, 2025, Firefighter/Equipment Operator J. Hank Hester collapsed while performing suppression repair at the Dragon Bravo Fire near the Grand Canyon North Rim in Arizona. Line paramedics performed CPR at the scene, but Firefighter/Equipment Operator Hester could not be resuscitated. The suspected cause of death is a cardiovascular emergency.

Honoring

Master Firefighter Preston Fant

DeKalb County Fire Rescue

EOW: Sept. 8, 2025 | Age: 53 | Tour: 21 Years

At approximately 1:30 p.m. on September 8, 2025, Master Firefighter Preston Fant along with other units from DeKalb County Fire Rescue responded to a warehouse fire in Lithonia, Georgia. Master Firefighter Fant was injured approximately 15 minutes into the interior attack. Rescue operations and lifesaving efforts began immediately on scene. Master Firefighter Fant was transported to the hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Disclaimer:

This information is supplied by the Officer Down Memorial Page (www.odmp.org) and the U.S. Fire Administration (www.apps.usfa.fema.gov).

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First Responder Benefit Association (FRBA) is our nonprofit founded to fill the gap of financial hardship that can often burden families of fallen First Responders. The First Responder Task Force funds 100% of FRBA’s administrative and operational expenses so that 100% of public donations go directly to aiding the families in need.

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*The $5,000 survivor benefit is paid when a line of duty death occurs. Line of duty is defined as AFBA members who are Emergency Service Providers to include law enforcement, firefighters, and emergency medical services providers who are killed while involved in operations at or responding to/from the scene of an incident. If death occurs otherwise, outside of a suicide, the beneficiary will receive a $2000 benefit.

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