Firefighter, 63, collapses and dies
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A volunteer firefighter has died after collapsing while battling a blaze in Mendocino County, authorities said.
The Anderson Valley Fire Department says Robert Roland, 63, died Thursday at Ukiah Valley Medical Center.
The cause of death has not yet been determined, but department volunteer Dawn Ballantine said Roland’s death probably was heart-related.
Ballantine said the all-volunteer squad of 41 firefighters is battling a 550-acre blaze, one of hundreds in the state started by recent lightning storms.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger released a statement saying he was “deeply saddened” by Roland’s death.
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