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COUNCIL BLUFFS — A 28-year veteran of the Council Bluffs Fire Department has died after battling cancer.
Council Bluffs Fire Capt. James Patrick Andersen, 54, died Tuesday.
Chief Alan Byers said Andersen spent the last several years in the inspection bureau, where he had taken over the public education mission.
“He was wonderful at it and loved going out and teaching,” Byers said. “He really made a difference, and we are still struggling to replace him.”
Byers called Andersen “a very dedicated guy.”
“I was lucky to have Jim as a firefighter on my truck early in our careers,” Byers said. “He loved the department and respected it, but his family was first. I think he and his family had a lot of pride that he followed in his father’s footsteps.”
Andersen’s father, the late James W. Andersen, was an Omaha firefighter.
Capt. Andersen was born in Omaha and graduated from the now-closed Ryan High School.
Byers said that once Andersen joined the Council Bluffs Fire Department, he immersed himself in the community.
Andersen’s survivors include his wife, Lori; daughter, Erin, and son, Matthew, all of Council Bluffs; and mother, Lorraine of Omaha.
His funeral will be Friday at 10 a.m. at Queen of the Apostles Catholic Church, 3304 Fourth Ave.
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