February 18 – Fifty seven year old Randy Hiti, a 26 year member of the Rice Lake Fire Department, passed away this evening while responding to a medical emergency call. Hiti was found unresponsive in his garage and efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. Since he was responding to a call at the time, his passing is considered a Line Of Duty Death (LODD). According to fellow firefighters, Hiti was an extremely active member of the department and hardly ever missed a call. He died while doing something that he absolutely loved, and that was being a first responder and firefighter.
Visitation is set for 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, February 24, at St. John’s Catholic Church in Duluth, 4230 St. John’s Avenue. Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 11:00 a.m. A procession of fire apparatus is planned from the Dougherty Funeral Home(600 East 2nd Street, Duluth) to the church. Assembly of fire personnel and apparatus will begin at 8:00 a.m.
Editor’s note: Randy was thoroughly dedicated to the Rice Lake Fire Department. Whenever I talked with him, his first words were about the fire department and how much he enjoyed being part of the organization. His level of dedication and caring for the fire service will be missed by his department, his brother and sister firefighters and the entire Lakehead fire organization. Let his passing serve as a reminder that our profession needs more dedicated people like him and in Randy’s name, let’s try to recruit more men and women who will step into his boots and carry the EMS and fire service forward.
