(UPDATE) The man who died has been identified as Ruben Gonzales Romero of Keizer, Oregon. A news release says that he had more than 20 years of experience as a firefighter and was currently on a Type 2 crew with TJ Contracting LLC.
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He served primarily as a sawyer, a firefighter who fells and cuts trees and brush with a chainsaw, as part of a 20 person crew and brought significant experience and wisdom to the fire line and the people with whom he worked.
Ruben’s family is in route to Montana and an honor guard made up of incident and local firefighters will remain with Ruben until his body is carried back home.
(1st REPORT) A firefighter died on Sunday, August 24, 2025, while fighting the Bivens Creek Fire in southwest Montana. According to Northern Rockies Team 6 Incident Commander Rich Cowger, the firefighter was involved in fire suppression on the ground when he suffered a cardiac emergency.
Medical assistance was provided by a line paramedic; however, resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful.
The name of the man has not yet been released.
"Our hearts go out to his family and friends. The wildland fire community is inherently interagency, and a line-of-duty death impacts us all," Cowger said in a statement. "We deeply appreciate this firefighter’s dedication to his profession and to the communities threatened by wildland fire."
As of Sunday night, the Bivens Creek Fire, located 10 miles east of Sheridan, is burning at 2,242 acres and is zero percent contained.
A total of 741 people are working on the fire, which was caused by lightning.
