Kenneth Jutte served for 18 years and John Garman served for 10 years as volunteer firefighters for the New Bremen Fire Department. It's the first time the 32-member department has lost anyone in the line of duty since 1896.

Silo Explodes At Local Lumber Yard The firefighters were hosing down sawdust and wood chips inside a 75-foot concrete silo to avoid an explosion.

New Knoxville Fire Chief Scott Schroer said the were either standing on top of the structure or in an ariel bucket. He describes the structure as a dust silo that feeds the boiler for the lumber company. He said there have been fires in the silo before.

Authorities said the fire was reported at 7 a.m. and the explosion happened shortly before 9 a.m. New Knoxville is 50 miles north of Dayton.