Scappoose wildland firefighter dies of pneumonia

SCAPPOOSE, Ore. (AP) – The family of a 20-year-old Scappoose man who died after returning from a summer fighting wildfires in Oregon and Washington says he died of complications from pneumonia.

Local TV stations including KGW report that Eric Aarseth returned from the fire lines last week and was sick but didn’t seek medical attention.

His family says friends found him unconscious on their couch on Aug. 28.

He was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed sepsis.

Aarseth never regained consciousness and doctors took him off life support on Monday.

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Information from: KGW-TV, http://www.kgw.com/