Name | Kenneth Frayne |
Agency | Channahon Fire Protection District |
Rank | Firefighter |
Type of Firefighter | Volunteer |
Age Range | 26 to 30 |
Sex | Male |
Date of Birth | 1/25/1973 |
Date of Death | 10/13/2001 |
Cause of Death | Caught/Trapped |
Nature of Death | Asphyxiation |
Attribute of Death | Drowning |
Type of Duty | Training duties , Water rescue operations |
Incident Name | N/A |
Incident City | Coal City |
Incident State | IL |
Incident Date | 10/13/2001 11:0 |
Incident Location | Water/Waterfront |
Incident Attribute | Training accidents , Boating/Diving accidents |
On October 13, 2001, Firefighter Kenneth James Frayne of the Channahon Fire Protection District died in the line of duty during a dive rescue training exercise. Frayne and eight other firefighters, representing four fire departments, took part in the training exercise, which was held at a private lake in Coal City.
The dive rescue training exercise involved a fourteen-foot boat and two mannequins that had been sunk to the bottom of the fifty-foot lake. The training exercise consisted of two separate dives, with a debriefing in between dives. Frayne was an active participant in both dives, but he failed to surface at the end of the second dive. The other divers immediately began searching for Frayne, and they were joined by additional dive rescue teams who responded to the scene after Frayne was reported missing. Frayne was found at the bottom of the lake approximately 75 minutes after he had last been seen. Efforts to revive him at the scene were unsuccessful, and he was transported to Morris Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Funeral services were held at Channahon United Methodist Church on October 17, and Frayne was interred the next day at Willard Grove Cemetery in Channahon. Frayne had joined the Channahon Fire Protection District as a volunteer firefighter on June 8, 1998. In addition to his firefighting duties, he was also a member of the dive and specialized rescue teams. Frayne lived in Channahon for four years, where he owned and operated Frayne’s Construction, Inc.
Additional Resources:
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face200135.html