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“In terms of what happened to cause the crash, that’s still under investigation.”
Ottawa firefighter Jeff Dean died Wednesday in a skydiving tragedy at Arnprior Airport. Photo by Ottawa Fire Services/Handout
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An Ottawa firefighter and father of two died Wednesday in what police have described as a “skydiving accident” at Arnprior Airport.
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Paramedics were called to the Parachute Ottawa site at the airport shortly before 1 p.m., said Mike Nolan, chief of the Renfrew Paramedic Service.
When paramedics arrived, they found workers and others trying to revive themselves. They took over, but it became clear that the patient was unresponsive and the patient was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police had also been called to the scene, and officers could be seen Wednesday afternoon in a field adjacent to Parachute Ottawa. Police tape surrounded the facility.
“As far as what happened to cause the crash, that’s still under investigation,” said Const. Brianna Roberge, spokeswoman for the Renfrew detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police, told this newspaper Wednesday evening.
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The Renfrew and Arnprior OPP detachments, the Renfrew OPP crime unit, the OPP forensic identification unit and the provincial ministry of labor were investigating Wednesday.
Investigators at the scene of the skydiving tragedy at Arnprior Airport on Wednesday. Photo by Jean Levac / Postmedia
Ottawa Fire Services Chief Paul Hutt released a statement on the death of firefighter Jeffrey Dean Wednesday evening. This newspaper confirmed that Dean was the person who died in the skydiving incident, and an OPP press release identified him as a 45-year-old resident of Fitzroy Harbour.
Dean worked at the 12th Fifth Avenue and O’Connor Street station. He joined the Ottawa Fire Services as a volunteer firefighter in 2010 and became a full-time member of the service two years later.
In addition to his firefighting work, Hutt said Dean was “a dedicated volunteer” with an OFS program for teenagers interested in firefighting, as well as a “loving husband and father of two.”
“I would like to send my deepest condolences to his family, friends and his firefighting family during this difficult time,” Hutt said.
Parachute Ottawa had not responded to requests for comment by deadline, but the company’s website says its drop zone is at Arnprior Airport and the landing zone covers nearly 400,000 square feet
Incorporated in 2018, the company touts a team of instructors with more than 185,000 jumps of combined experience and “expertise including first (tandem) jumps, civilian free fall, canopy training and military training,” the website said.
Parachute Ottawa is based at Arnprior Airport. Photo by Jean Levac / Postmedia