An autopsy has confirmed that a 31-year-old volunteer firefighter died of a heart attack after helping extinguish a blaze in Butler on July 19, a day when the temperature climbed into the 90s.
But DeKalb County Coroner Jeff Warner says he cannot determine what caused Travis Lee Miller’s heart attack – whether it was the heat, overexertion, a health condition or some combination of those factors.
On the evening of July 19, Miller and other firefighters with the Waterloo-Grant Township Fire Department were assisting the Butler Fire Department in putting out a house fire in Butler.
After the fire, Miller went home, and about 10:30 p.m. he told his wife he was going to bed. About 4:30 a.m. July 20, first responders were sent to Miller’s home and found him dead.
Shortly after Miller’s death, Supporting Heroes – a group that aids families of fallen police, firefighters and paramedics – issued a statement that said he had died in the line of duty. He had been with the Waterloo department for five years.
