A leader in the Boone County Fire Protection District died in the line of duty early Monday while participating in a water rescue.
Assistant Chief Matthew Tobben was in a rescue boat with three others when the boat lost power. It later capsized, and while all were recovered, Tobben died by drowning, said Gale Blomenkamp, BCFD assistant chief. Next of kin was notified.
“The incident is now under control and there is no one else we are looking for,” Blomenkamp said, adding BCFD had been called in to assist with Columbia Fire Department water rescue operations. “We had launched one of our boats with a Columbia Fire Fighter and Tobben.”
They had rescued two people in floodwaters when the boat lost power and they called out a mayday. More investigation is needed to determine why the boat capsized, but Blomenkamp said that without power the boat likely was drifting and there is myriad debris in floodwaters, so it is possible it struck debris.
“Everybody was thrown from (the boat). Three of the four were found immediately, but unfortunately Matt Tobben (died) during that incident,” he said.
This is the second drowning death within a week after heavy rainfalls have caused flash flooding throughout the county. Flooding has impacted both roadways and pedestrian and biking trails in Columbia and the county.
Blomenkamp urges residents to remain vigilant and to not drive through roads covered with water as a situation can change within seconds.
“When it comes to a flash food, they move very quickly. Water rises fast and goes down fast. People need to be aware of that and pay attention. When we say, ‘Turn around, don’t drown,’ that is what they should be doing,” he said.
More: 1 death, partial building collapse in Boone County attributed to rain, flooding
Firefighters are trained the best that they can be, but they also are competing with adverse conditions, said Columbia Interim Fire Chief Michael Arnhart.
“Flash floods are nothing to mess around with. Unfortunately it has taken one of our assistant chiefs this morning,” Blomenkamp added, choking back tears. “It’s a big hit to the community and the fire service, but we could not have had a more highly trained individual than Matt Tobben was for this type of situation. We had the best of the best out there, but unfortunately tragedy struck.”
Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at [email protected] or @CD_CDT on X, formerly Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Boone County flooding: Assistant fire chief drowns during rescue
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