Johnson County firefighter Jim Bell passed away during a skiing trip with his family.
Bell worked at the Consolidated Fire District No. 2 department for 16 years.
“Jim's an 11, so what speed of life do you run at, he's an 11. That's all day, everyday,” Apparatus Operator for the Consolidated Fire District No. 2 James Hansen said.
“These guys live together and they become close friends and they become family,” Training Chief Steve Chick Jr. said. “It's very personal to the members of our district."
Bell was a man his close coworkers describe as passionate and hardworking.
“He was a firefighter's firefighter, if that makes sense,” Hansen said. “That's the guy you want to ride with, you want him on your truck in the morning, as guys get ready to go.”
“Jim's passion led him to train hard and to work out and to be ready for what comes at him no matter what that was, whether that was fighting a house fire here in the local area, or whether that was traveling into Greensburg, with the search and rescue team,” Chick said.
Bell was not only a firefighter, but also a husband and a father of two young boys.
“He was a good father, he was a good firefighter, he was a good friend,” Chick said. “It's certainly a great loss. It'll be a tough void to fill here.”
And also a brother these firefighters say will leave a long lasting impact.
“He helped people, he truly did,” Hansen said. “All the way to the end, they donated his organs, so he's still helping and he'll help for several more years.”
According to a Facebook post made by Consolidated Fire District No. 2, Bell suffered injuries while on vacation with his family.
The post said, "Today we lost one of our brothers; Firefighter Jim Bell. Jim was a great firefighter, father, son and friend."
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Bell passed away shortly after 2 a.m. on Friday.
Details of the services will be shared by the fire department.
There's currently a GoFundMe page set up for Bell's family, to provide future education for Bell's two young sons.
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