CANONSBURG, Pa. – First responders in Belmont County are mourning one of their own today, after a Bellaire man was killed when a trench he was working in collapsed.

Richard “Rick” St. John, 49, was a Bellaire resident and a past or current member of several local fire departments. He died Friday outside of a North Strabane Township home near Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. According to a report published in the Observer-Reporter, St. John died after he became trapped when a roughly 10-foot-deep trench in which he was helping to place a sewer line collapsed and buried him.

North Strabane Fire Chief Mark Grimm said his department was called to the house on Brehm Road about 1:10 p.m. It was a little before 5 p.m. by the time the man’s remains were recovered.

“It took us nearly three hours from the time we started (digging) to rescue the male that was trapped in the hole,” Grimm said. “The problem with these collapses, obviously, is that you’re 6 to 10 feet down, dirt keeps falling, so it’s tedious and time-consuming …”

The cause and manner of St. John’s death are pending an autopsy by the Washington County, Pennsylvania coroner’s office.

The Observer-Reporter stated that St. John was one of several people who were tying the house where he died to a municipal sewer line that had recently been installed in the neighborhood. He wasn’t doing the work for a contractor or other type of employer, but officials said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had arrived to investigate.

North Strabane police also are investigating the death.

St. John was a paramedic who most recently served with the Wolfhurst Volunteer Fire Department. Although department Chief Matthew Otto could not be reached for comment Saturday, the VFD posted the following message on its Facebook page:

“We have all heard the sayings ‘life is short’ or ‘enjoy every minute of every day’. Those statements cannot be any truer today. Earlier today, we learned of the passing of a brother firemen as a result of freak and tragic accident. Rick St. John started out as an employee of the department many years back. He then shortly after joined as a volunteer firemen/paramedic and has served honorably since. Anybody who knew Rick, always enjoyed his company as he was just a tremendous individual, full of knowledge and full of life. We extend our deepest condolences to Rick’s family and friends. Rest easy brother, we will take it from here …”

St. John also was employed at the Belmont County Jail. The Belmont County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page featured the following statement on Saturday:

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends & family of Rick St. John. Rest in Peace and thank you for all you did for all of us!”

Allan Ketzell, chief of the Brookside VFD and an active member of the Belmont County Fire and Squad Officers Association, confirmed that St. John previously worked for the Bellaire and Neffs fire departments. He also confirmed that St. John was the father of a young man who is well known throughout the region for his brave battle against cancer.

Codey St. John was diagnosed in 2006 at age 6 with Neuroblastoma Stage 4.Treatments began almost immediately and were effective. It was believed he had beaten the disease, but it resurfaced several times between 2011 and 2015.

By 2017, though, he had undergone his last radiation and signed up to play as a member of the former St. John Central Fighting Irish basketball team – a move that Rick supported.

John Driscoll, retired chief of the Neffs Fire Department, said Rick St. John worked for him when Codey was diagnosed. St. John served Neffs as a fire captain and as a paramedic.

“Ricky was the type of individual that no matter what he did, he did it full bore,” Driscoll said. “If he decided to be a paramedic, he did it full bore. If he rode motorcycles, he did it full bore. He tried to be tops at anything that he did.”

Driscoll said St. John was dedicated to public service and to his children.

“He absolutely loved his kids, and nothing got in his way to take care of those kids … ,” Driscoll noted. “I just can’t say enough about how hard he worked … When he decided to become a paramedic, he would study. If he wasn’t out on a call, his nose was in a book

Driscoll also knows firsthand that St. John was a capable paramedic. The chief suffered a heart attack at a fire scene and said it was St. John who took care of him on the way to the hospital.

“I probably owe Ricky my life,” Driscoll added.