Flags to Fly at Half-Staff Sunday for Minnesota Firefighter

ST. PAUL (AP) — Gov. Mark Dayton has ordered flags at state and federal buildings to be flown at half-staff Sunday in honor of a Minnesota firefighter who died in the line of duty.

Timothy Wayne Royce, of Mapleton, was found unconscious after suffering a heart attack in the early hours of March 30. He had responded to two emergency calls the day before, a traffic crash and a medical call. Fellow firefighters were unable to revive him. The 58-year-old had been with the Mapleton Volunteer Fire Department for 17 years.

Firefighters from around the state are expected to converge on Mapleton for his memorial service Sunday, which is set for 1 p.m. at Maple River High School.

The Mapleton Fire Department covers 130 square miles of Blue Earth County in south-central Minnesota.