Duty Death: Matthew D. Bennett - [Indianapolis]
End of Service: 14/11/2020
Brooke Kemp
The Indianapolis Star
INDIANAPOLIS — A firefighter died unexpectedly Saturday after complaining of chest pains while on duty a day earlier, the Indianapolis Fire Department said.
Matthew Bennett, 49, was taken from the scene of a possible structural collapse to a nearby hospital after complaining of chest pain Friday.
Bennett, an engineer, had driven IFD Collapse Rescue Team 1 to the 5400 block of Brendon Park Drive Friday morning to help Lawrence officials assess damage caused by a car driving into a home.
About a half hour after firefighters arrived, a Lawrence ambulance took Bennett to Community Hospital North, where he was immediately taken into surgery.
He died Saturday afternoon.
Further information about Bennett’s death was not immediately available, but Battalion Chief Rita Reith said information about his funeral would be provided “pending the family’s wishes.”
Bennett is survived by his wife, daughter, step-daughter, step-son and three grandchildren, according to IFD. He was a public servant for 38 years, working throughout his career as a reserve firefighter, an EMT, a dispatcher and an engineer.
“Please keep Matt, his family and his IFD family in your thoughts as we all grieve his unexpected loss,” Reith wrote in a news release.
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