Cold Spring firefighter dies after falling onto patio near Big Fish Lake, Minn.

Image 1 of 2

A member of the Cold Spring Fire Department has died after falling about 10-12 feet onto a concrete patio Sunday morning at his home in Collegeville Township, Minnesota.

Deputies from the Stearns County sheriff's office responded to a medical call at a home where Chad Kraemer, 40, had fallen from a sliding glass door to the concrete patio below. Despite efforts to revive him, Kraemer was pronounced dead at the scene.

Family members said Kraemer had gone to bed sometime between 11 p.m. and midnight, and was found on the patio around 4:43 a.m. They believe he woke up in the middle of the night to let some air in when he fell.

According to a release, the sliding glass door is a "deck door" type slider, though there is not a deck or elevated patio associated with the door. Kraemer’s family says they were in the process of replacing an old deck, which is why there was nothing on the other side of the door.

Kraemer was a member of the Cold Spring Fire Department and rescue squad for 19 years.

He was also a member of the Cold Spring Chamber of Commerce, and in 2015, he was the recipient of the Hometown Pride Community Service Award. He was also one of the main organizers of the fire department’s largest fundraiser, Fire Fest, which takes place every summer.

Kraemer is survived by his wife and three children.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on July 7, 2017 at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Cold Spring.