Merrill Fire Chief Josh Klug announced Tuesday that the death of a former Merrill Fire Chief has officially been recognized as a line-of-duty death.
On the morning of October 7, 1941 Chief Adlord Talbot, age 60, failed to join his crew for morning shift change at the now former number one fire station, which still stands at 701 E 1st St. When his fellow firefighters went to check on him, they found Talbot dead in his bed of an apparent heart attack.
Klug noted at that time, deaths such as Talbots were not considered line-of-duty deaths.
While doing research on another matter, local historian Michael Caylor came across Talbot’s death record and noted the place of death was listed as the fire station. Caylor spoke with Talbot’s daughter, 93-year-old Monica Talbot. She confirmed the details of her father’s death with precise memories from that fateful morning.