Pinedale Volunteer Firefighter Terry Wayne Dykes, 58, died Monday of injuries he suffered while battling a wildfire along County Road 60 in Union County on Saturday.
Dykes was refilling a brush truck when he fell from the top of the truck, WTVA reports.
The region was experiencing extreme wildfire conditions, with winds gusting between 40 and 50 miles per hour. Parts of North Mississippi were also under a Red Flag Warning at the time for elevated wildfire risk.
Curt Clayton, Union County Emergency Management Director, told the station Dykes suffered major head trauma in the fall. He died Monday at the hospital in Tupelo.
He leaves behind a wife and two children.
Dykes’ passing marks the first firefighter line-of-duty death in Union County’s history.
