Boone County Fire says procession will precede assistant chief's funeral

Boone County Fire Protection District has released details for the funeral and visitation for Assistant Chief Matthew Tobben, who died in the line of duty during a water rescue Monday.

Visitation is 3-8 p.m. Friday at the Oltmann Funeral Home, 103 N. Church St. in Union, Missouri, Tobben's hometown. The funeral is 11 a.m. Saturday at East Central College, 1964 Prairie Dell Road in Union, with full fire service honors. The burial ceremony is private.

A procession with fire service apparatus and other public safety vehicles will depart from the funeral home to East Central College prior to the start of funeral services.

Tobben's death is the second line-of-duty death for Boone County Fire in the past nearly three years. His death Monday was the second drowning death after rains saturated the region leading to flash flooding, impacting roadways and bike and pedestrian trails.

"It's a big hit to the community and the fire service, but we could not have had a more highly trained individual than Matt Tobben was for this type of situation. We had the best of the best out there, but unfortunately tragedy struck," Boone County Fire Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp said Monday.

Previously:Boone County assistant fire chief drowns while rescuing people from floodwaters