Firefighter Kenneth Dwight Caldwell

Firefighter Caldwell and members of the La Crosse Volunteer Fire Department responded to a field fire Thursday morning. During the response, Firefighter Caldwell used rescue equipment to cut through a fence so firefighters and equipment could get to the area of the fire.

After they cleared the call, Firefighter Caldwell said he was going to the post office to pick up his mail.

On Thursday evening, he missed a work detail at the firehouse. On Friday, he failed to respond to a call, which was very uncharacteristic of him.

By Sunday morning, he had not been seen or heard from since Thursday. So members of his department went to his residence to check on him. They found him deceased inside the house. He had apparently collapsed and died while opening his mail, just hours after his emergency response to the field fire.