Deaths In Brandon House Fire Shake Residents, Firefighters
BRANDON, S.D. (AP) — The death of a volunteer fireman and a homeowner in a Brandon house fire has shaken residents in the area as well as the firefighting community.
Steven Ackerman, 38, with the fire department in nearby Valley Springs, died late Sunday in the blaze that also killed homeowner David Smith, 47. The cause of the fire was not immediately determined but authorities do not consider it suspicious.
Firefighter deaths in South Dakota are uncommon. Ackerman is the 43rd firefighter to die in the line of duty in the state since 1924, and only the 22nd volunteer firefighter, according to the South Dakota Firefighters Association.
“Nobody is immune to this type of danger in this type of occupation,” President Charlie Kludt told KDLT-TV. “Firefighters go into buildings that people are running out of.”
Ackerman was a volunteer firefighter for 14 years, according to the Argus Leader newspaper. He worked with a family heating and cooling business and served on the town’s planning and zoning commission.
“He was a good guy who cared a lot about his community,” said Sadie Den Herder, who worked at a café and gas station that Ackerman frequented.
Members of Smith’s family told KELO-TV that they are still in shock over his death.
“He was really fun, caring. He always had something to say that was funny,” said 15-year-old daughter Makenzie Smith, who escaped the fire but couldn’t save her father. “He was a really caring, loving dad. He’ll be missed by a lot of people.”
Smith, a husband and father of five, worked as a truck driver for a construction company. He was known throughout the community as a generous man.
“He’d give you the shirt off his back,” resident Janie Olson told the Argus Leader.
