By Dave Dawson
Jacksonville Journal-Courier
VERSAILLES, Ill. — The assistant chief of the Versailles Fire Department died Sunday when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a deer near Naples.
Jason Dunmire’s presence will be sorely missed by the community he served well since he was a teenager, Versailles Fire Chief Chuck Northcut said.
“He served his community with distinction for more than 20 years as a firefighter. He was also an EMT and was appointed assistant chief of the department in February 2023,” Northcut said.
Northcut said he believed Dunmire, 39, died when his motorcycle collided with a deer near Naples on Sunday night. An accident report from the Scott County Sheriff’s Department was unavailable.
Dunmire’s obituary from Hendricker Funeral Home in Mount Sterling said he died at 9:10 p.m. Sunday from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident.
“He had a big impact on our community, and I am deeply saddened by his loss. He was a strong leader and willing to help anyone who needed it,” Northcut said.
“He stood by me 100 percent in anything we did. We’re a small department and we need everyone we can on the job, so it is a huge loss,” Northcut said.
A post on the Versailles Fire Department’s Facebook page remembered Dunmire: “This post comes with great sadness not only for (me) but for the Versailles Fire Department and our whole community. We lost our assistant chief, Jason Dunmire, to a horrible tragedy. Jason, you were a great friend and even better assistant chief. Rest easy VF2, we will take it from here.”
Dunmire had been a truck driver for Dot Transportation in Mount Sterling for the past 15 years and had worked in the Dot Foods warehouse beginning in high school.
He graduated from Brown County High School in 2003 and attended Western Illinois University in Macomb. He graduated from John Wood Community College with an associate’s degree in fire science.
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