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Procession held Friday in honor of Jacksonville firefighter who died after 'difficult extraction'

Units were posted along the route "paying respects to [their] fallen brother."

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department honored one of their own who died in the line of duty Thursday morning.

On Friday, JFRD escorted the body of Michael Freeland to a funeral home after he died following a difficult extraction during a traffic crash.

Units were posted along the route "paying respects to [their] fallen brother."  

Credit: JFRD

The procession started at the Medical Examiner's Office and ended at the funeral home on north Soutel Drive.

RELATED: Jacksonville firefighter dies after 'difficult extraction' working scene of traffic crash involving U-Haul

Freeland was working at the scene of a traffic crash around 1 a.m.  Authorities say he was in the back of a U-Haul truck working and collapsed after stepping out of the truck.

Lifesaving efforts by JFRD crews and hospital staff were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at 2:12 a.m., the release says.

According to an obituary from the Jacksonville Retired Firefighter Association, Freeland was 35 years old and assigned to Engine 73 at Cecil Field.

He had been on the job for about seven and a half years and had served as an engineer for two years, according to JFRD. 

Chief Keith Powers says this is the third line of duty death for JFRD since June.

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