A firefighter dies while putting out a fire due to arson In the small town of Lyndonville, Vermont, the evening of Friday, September 4, 1998, brought with it a devastating event that would leave a lasting scar on the community. Eugene McDonough, a dedicated 54-year-old Caucasian male firefighter with the St. Johnsbury Fire Department, responded to a blaze at the expansive PMI Lumber Transfer warehouse, a building filled with pulp paper that fueled the inferno.
The fire, it would later be determined, was no accident but an act of arson, turning a dangerous call into a homicide investigation that remains unsolved to this day.
As McDonough and his fellow firefighters battled the aggressive flames, he bravely approached the large doors of the warehouse to provide an opening for the hose streams to penetrate the structure's interior. In a tragic turn of events, as he moved away, the doors swung shut. When he went to reopen them, a portion of the brick wall above collapsed, burying him under the rubble. Despite the frantic efforts of his colleagues, including firefighter Will Rivers who was injured during the rescue attempt, McDonough was pronounced dead at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital.
The intentional nature of the fire, which caused an estimated $300,000 in damages, has led to a decades-long search for answers and justice for Eugene McDonough. Described as a mentor and a friend by those who knew him, his death marked the first line-of-duty fatality in the 165-year history of the St. Johnsbury Fire Department. The Vermont State Police continue to investigate the case, periodically renewing calls for any information from the public that might lead to a breakthrough. A reward of up to $10,000 has been offered by the Professional Fire Fighters of Vermont for tips that result in the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for starting the fire that claimed a hero's life. The case of Eugene McDonough's death remains an open and active homicide investigation, a somber reminder of a night of loss that continues to haunt the small Vermont community.
