Sanford fire battalion chief dies after cancer battle: 'rest easy brother'

SANFORD, Fla. - The Sanford Fire Department is mourning the loss of Battalion Chief Luke Kimmig, who died from cancer – the second Central Florida firefighter to die in the line of duty in two months.

"He served his community, his fire-family, his family, and God with the upmost honor and integrity! He lived a life with exceptionally high standards for himself and those that surrounded him," Sanford Fire Department said in a Facebook post.

Kimmig leaves behind a wife and five children.

Sanford Fire Chief Ronnie McNeil said it has been tough for the whole department.

"We all get kind of close working 24-48's together. We all get really close, so there's a lot of emotions going on right now, just internally-wise, so we're just trying to get through it," he said.

Chief McNiel said Kimmig was active in his family's lives and in his community.

"He loved teaching baseball, coaching, he loved working at Seminole State College teaching fire recruits, he loved doing that. He loved his family and spending time with them."

Kimmig joined the Sanford Fire Department in 2006, and quickly made a name for himself, rising through the ranks, McNiel said.

"We have three different stations and he worked his way up and switched shifts a couple times, but we're all a big family because we're a small department."

There are about 100 members of the Sanford fire Department.

McNeil said firefighters are prone to cancer because of their constant exposure to dangerous substances on the job.

"We're going in and out of different hazards, between chemical hazards on traffic accidents, fire hazards that we go in and out, we try to protect as much as we can by washing our gear and all that."

In August, Orlando firefighter Amanda Adams died from a rare form of cancer that developed in her kidneys.

Dr. J. Matthew Knight, MD., an Orlando physician, said it was critical for firefighters to get regular medical check-ups.

"It's important you have a good health screening plan in place, it's natural for young, healthy people to not want to go to the doctor, but if you're a firefighter, thank you for your work, but please make sure you see your doctor and have a cancer health screening plan in-place."