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TOOELE — Residents joined the Tooele firefighting community in mourning the loss of one of their own Sunday.
Gregory Bronder, 40, of Tooele, was training for an upcoming trip to Mount Rainier in Washington state by hiking Mt. Nebo on Saturday with two other men. While crossing a saddle between two peaks, Bronder fell approximately 1,500 feet. His companions attempted emergency care but Bronder's injuries were too severe.
Bronder was a member of the Tooele City Fire Department which consists of 50 volunteer firefighters.
"This is something that rocks the community, shakes up the department as close as ours," Tooele City Fire Chief Mike Jensen said Sunday.
On their Facebook page, the Tooele Fire Department posted, "Greg was an avid outdoorsman and loved hiking and mountain climbing. Greg you will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Bronder and Colovich families at this difficult time. Your fellow firefighters and the citizens of Tooele City thank you for your service. RIP my friend."
Jensen said Bronder loved hiking, mountain climbing and hunting. He also said Bronder was an excellent firefighter and one of the more safety-conscious people in the department.
"Greg was a very nice individual. I never heard him say a bad word about anybody," Jensen said.
Both the Tooele and North Tooele Fire Departments changed their Facebook profile pictures to show their department patches with a black and red band across them. Many also left messages of condolence on the page.
"Awesome firefighter, wonderful guy, loved his family dearly.... May all who know him find peace, comfort, & be there for his family," one man wrote.
Bronder is survived by his wife and two children.
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