On the evening of Friday, September 4, 1998, 54-year-old firefighter Eugene Geno McDonough of the St. Johnsbury Fire Department died while responding to a deliberately set blaze at the PMI Lumber Transfer warehouse in Lyndonville, Vermont. The warehouse, full of pulp paper, burned in a fire later determined to be arson. McDonough had opened large warehouse doors to let hose streams in; as he stepped away the doors swung shut and, when he tried to reopen them, a section of brick wall above collapsed and buried him. He was pronounced dead at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital; a fellow firefighter, Will Rivers, was injured during rescue efforts.

The fire caused about $300,000 in damage and marked the first line-of-duty fatality in the 165-year history of the St. Johnsbury Fire Department. The Vermont State Police continue to investigate, and the Professional Fire Fighters of Vermont has offered up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction. If anyone knew Eugene or has information about that night, contact investigators who are still seeking answers.