Community to honor firefighter killed in ATV crash in Dalton, Minnesota
Dalton Assistant Fire Chief Jason Kirchner died in an ATV crash on July 11.
DALTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - A public safety community is coming together in central Minnesota after a firefighter died in an ATV accident on July 11.
Assistant Fire Chief Jason Kirchner served on the Dalton Fire Department for 18 years.
"Jason was a great guy. He was a helpful guy," Dalton Fire Chief Donald Rocholl said.
He leaves behind his longtime girlfriend and two kids, a three-year-old and six-month-old.
"Jason was a family man. If you saw him with his kids, he absolutely adored them and loved them. He would bring him around here," Rocholl added. "He loved to show his kids off."
According to Chief Rocholl, his family loved to show him off as well.
"The other day when I was out to his house, his little girl stood there looking at his uniform just gibbering [sic] and jabbering away about [her] daddy," Rocholl said.
Now Jason’s firefighter family wants his children and their mother to know just how special he was.
They’re planning to line the streets of Dalton on July 16 with firefighters across the state - the day of the funeral.
"There’s no better way to show how much family he had in the fire service than reaching out," said Rocholl. "It’s unbelievable how much support we’ve had."