On Saturday, the Des Moines Professional Fire Fighters Association IAFF Local 4 President Joe VanHaalen announced that a 29-year-veteran of the Des Moines Fire Department died Saturday morning after having a medical emergency while on duty Friday.
Fire Engineer Douglas McCauley, 58, died because of an unknown medical problem.
Brian O'Keefe, spokesman for the Des Moines Fire Department, said that McCauley was on a lunch break at a restaurant in the 4900 block of Southeast 14th Street when police were called because of a serious medical event.
O'Keefe said firefighters responded to the call and were dismayed to see that it was their co-worker in distress, but they did what they were trained to do.