ABBOTSFORD, WI — A Colby firefighter killed Sunday while battling a blaze at the Abby Theatre also was a Marathon County Sheriff’s deputy.
Jamison Kampmeyer was fatally injured and four other firefighters were injured in the fire. Kampmeyer’s name was formally released this afternoon by the Sheriff’s Department.
The theatre’s ceiling collapsed and trapped three firefighters inside, Abbotsford Fire Chief Jody Apfelbeck said Sunday. The other two firefighters suffered injuries from falling bricks.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by local, state and federal officials.
Kampmeyer has been with the Sheriff’s Department since April 2004, worked the midnight shift and was a member of the SWAT team, Marathon County Chief Deputy Scott Parks said.
“He enjoyed doing this job, but at the same time, he took it very seriously,” Parks said.
Parks said the deputies who work the midnight shift are a close-knit group and often respond to the same calls together.
“He had that personality that made it easy to want to be around him,” Parks said.
Kampmeyer also was an adjunct criminal justice adviser at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau. Andrew Kleppe, a criminal justice instructor at NTC and a part-time sheriff’s deputy, said he admired the way Kampmeyer worked with people that were facing arrest, crime victims and students he taught.
“He had a way of connecting with people that got to the bottom line but didn’t take away respect from people,” Kleppe said.
News of Kampmeyer’s death spread quickly this morning on Facebook, Twitter and other socal media sites.
Gov. Scott Walker offered his condolences this morning on his Twitter and Facebook accounts to Kampmeyer’s family before local authorities confirmed that Kampmeyer was killed. Walker’s condolences were removed from his social media accounts shortly after being posted.
Kampmeyer was scheduled to be promoted to a detective next month. He will be promoted posthumously, Parks said.
Kampmeyer, 34, is survived by his wife and three children.
