A central Minnesota man fell to his death from his home's second-level sliding door, which lacked any sort of deck on the other side, authorities said.
Emergency responders arrived from the Cold Spring Fire Department rescue squad, which had counted the man among its ranks.
Chad M. Kraemer, 40, fell 10 to 12 feet to his death late at night over the weekend at his home in Collegeville Township, according to the Stearns County Sheriff's Office.
Kraemer went to bed late Saturday, and sheriff's deputies were called to the scene about 4:40 a.m. Sunday and told that he fell to the patio below the door.
"This was a traumatic call for the Fire Department as Chad Kraemer was a member" of the rescue squad, the Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
Responders treated Kraemer at the scene, where he was pronounced dead.
Kraemer had been with the Cold Spring rescue squad for 19 years and was part of the third generation that owns Kraemer Trucking and Excavating.
He leaves behind a wife and three children.
