KINLOCH, Mo. (AP) – A firefighter from the St. Louis County town of Kinloch has died, and officials are classifying it as in the line of duty.

Captain Richard Parks was 47. He died Friday.

Authorities say Parks suffered a medical emergency soon after returning to the station following a fire in which a 16-year-old victim was rescued last month. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Parks drove a truck to the fire scene but soon became ill and was driven back to the station.

Hours later, his condition worsened and he was taken to a hospital. He was released and arrived back at the firehouse, his only home.

Fire officials say he suffered cardiac arrest at the fire station on April 21 and had been under hospice care since then.

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