A pair of off-duty New York firefighters tragically died on Thursday after one of them fell into a manure tanker on a cattle farm and the other attempted to rescue him.
Tyler Memory, 29, of Tully, and Nathan Doody, 33, of DeRuyter, were performing their day jobs as drivers for manure trucks at Champion Farms when they were overpowered by the hazardous fumes issuing from the tanker.
According to authorities, one of the off-duty firemen had endeavored to retrieve ‘a piece of equipment that had fallen into the tanker’ before passing out and collapsing inside.
Although it isn’t yet clear who initially fell into the tanker, investigators said that the other man tried to rescue his colleague, but then he also fell unconscious and tumbled in.
A pair of off-duty New York firefighters tragically died on Thursday after one of them fell into a manure tanker on a cattle farm and the other attempted to rescue him. Memory (pictured) was a third-generation firefighter and a 15-year veteran of the Tully Joint Fire Department
According to authorities, one of the off-duty firemen had endeavored to retrieve ‘a piece of equipment that had fallen into the tanker,’ before passing out and collapsing inside. Doody (pictured) was a volunteer at the Cuyler Fire Department in Cortland County, which he’d joined 10 years ago
Other farm employees discovered both the men unconscious in the tanker and called 911 around 11 am.
After the farm staff contacted authorities, two helicopters were dispatched to the scene.
The Clinton Fire Department, Mercy Flight, and COVAC Ambulance all descended on the farm and administered aid to the two men.
Tully and Doody were then rushed to Wynn Hospital in Utica, where they later died.
Memory (pictured) joined the department when he was only 14 years old
Tully and Doody (pictured left) were then rushed to Wynn Hospital in Utica, where they later passed away
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According to LocalSyr.com, 29-year-old Memory was a third-generation firefighter and a 15-year veteran of the Tully Joint Fire Department.
Memory joined the department when he was only 14 years old, Assistant Chief Joe Nemier said.
Doody, also a long-time firefighter, was a volunteer at the Cuyler Fire Department in Cortland County, where he’d joined ten years ago.
The sudden and tragic deaths of the two brave young men have left their respective fire departments and families grieving.
The sudden and tragic deaths of the two brave young men have left their respective fire departments and families grieving
Although it isn’t yet clear who initially fell into the tanker, investigators said that the other man tried to rescue his colleague, but then he also fell unconscious and tumbled in
A tenth-generation beef and dairy farm, Champion Farms was founded in the early 1800s in Clinton, which is roughly 250 miles northwest of Manhattan.
Manure tankers can be perilous because manure fumes release toxic gases that can be fatal to humans at certain high levels.
Among the different dangerous gases manure produces, hydrogen sulfide is the most potent and can induce nausea, dizziness, headaches and unconsciousness.
When the level of hydrogen sulfide is extremely high, a human can die after taking fewer than two breaths.