BROKEN BOW, NE — A volunteer firefighter from central Nebraska has passed away a month after helping to fight a wildfire in the Nebraska Panhandle. 

The Broken Bow Fire Department announced the Line of Duty death of James Bissonette on Thursday, September 23.

The Nebraska Serious Injury and Line of Duty Death Response Team said earlier this week that Bissonette was part of the team the Broken Bow VFD sent to assist with the Hackberry Fire in Banner County from August 7-10. 

Upon returning home, Bissonette became ill. According to the Response Team, he battled COVID-19 for over a month before passing away in Lincoln Thursday. 

Bissonette joined the Broken Bow Fire Department in October 2019. He is survived by a wife and two children.