July 13–A St. Louis firefighter has died after he was injured while battling a fire that started on the Fourth of July.
Fire Capt. John Kemper was hurt fighting a fire in the 3600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue in the overnight hours of July 4. The fire took 12 hours to extinguish, and Kemper was one of four firefighters injured in the blaze, according to a St. Louis Fire Department news release.
Kemper had been with the department since 1993. He was promoted to fire captain in 2008. He is the 55th firefighter to die in the line of duty in 2017, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.
Garon Mosby, spokesperson for the fire department, told KSDK that Kemper was originally treated for a shoulder injury, but doctors found other issues and moved him to the ICU. He was released and was out of town relaxing with his family, Mosby said, when he died Wednesday morning.
The department doesn’t know an exact cause of death, Mosby told KSDK.
Kara Berg: 618-239-2626, @karaberg95
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