Firefighter Record
Firefighter Details
| Name | Kody Vanfossan |
| Agency | Christopher Fire Department |
| Rank | Firefighter |
| Type of Firefighter | Paid-On-Call (POC) |
| Age Range | 21 to 25 |
| Sex | Male |
| Date of Birth | 0/0/0 |
| Date of Death | 5/5/2019 |
| Cause of Death | Contact/Exposure |
| Nature of Death | Asphyxiation |
| Attribute of Death | Smoke inhalation |
| Type of Duty | Firefighting operations , Search and rescue operations |
Incident Details
| Incident Name | N/A |
| Incident City | Christopher |
| Incident State | IL |
| Incident Date | 5/5/2019 |
| Incident Location | Vacant property |
| Incident Attribute | Structural collapses , Fires |
Incident Summary
On May 5, 2019, Firefighter Kody Vanfossan of the Christopher Fire Department died in the line of duty while fighting a residential fire in Christopher, Illinois.
Firefighters responded to a working fire at a two-story commercial building and began searching the first floor for occupants. Firefighter Vanfossan was working with his father Lieutenant Vanfossan, who was also with the Christopher Fire Department, on a search of the first floor when they attempted to ascend the stairs to the second floor of the building. Finding instability in the stairs that prevented them from using them, Firefighter Vanfossan and Lieutenant Vanfossan used a ground ladder inside of the building to bridge over the stairs while other Christopher firefighters accessed the second story from ground ladders outside of the structure. When fire conditions worsened, all firefighters were ordered to leave the second story. Lieutenant Vanfossan was located and removed from the bottom of the interior stairwell but Firefighter Vanfossan could not be located by firefighters. Fire conditions continued to deteriorate to the point that the search for Firefighter Vanfossan was suspended. He was later located, removed from the building, and transported to the coroner’s office. His cause of death was found to be smoke inhalation/asphyxiation.
Funeral services for Vanfossan were held at the Christopher High School Gymnasium in Christopher on May 10, and he was interred at St. Andrew Catholic Cemetery in Christopher.
Vanfossan had been a firefighter with the Christopher Fire Department for approximately 3 years at the time of his death. He was employed by Nascote Industries in Nashville. Vanfossan was survived by his fiancé and five-month-old son.
Citations:
“Firefighter Fatality Notice for Kody Michael Vanfossan,” U.S. Fire Administration.
Gabriel Neely-Streit, “ ‘A Fallen Brother’: Christopher mourns loss of firefighter Kody Vanfossan,” thesouthern.com, May 6, 2019.
Obituary for Kody Michael Vanfossan, www.gilbertfuneralhomes.com.
Additional Resources:
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/pdfs/face201909.pdf
Firefighter and Incident Images
