BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) — A volunteer firefighter in Southeast Texas has died of heat-related injuries following a training exercise.
The Atascocita (uh-tas-koh-SEE'-tuh) Volunteer Fire Department says 46-year-old Capt. Neal Smith died late Monday.
Authorities say Smith became unconscious Sunday during a smoke-related exercise in Beaumont. Department spokesman Anthony Turner says Smith was transported to a Beaumont hospital where he later died of heat exhaustion.
Smith, who'd been with the department five years, is survived by his wife and two children. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Officials say it's the first death in the line of duty for an Atascocita firefighter since the department was established in 1978.
Atascocita is about 20 miles northeast of Houston.
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