Salt Lake City Fire Department’s Michael Harp dies in boating accident on Green River

A Salt Lake City fire captain was killed in a boating accident in Dinosaur National Monument, the National Park Service said Saturday.

Park officials confirmed that 54-year-old Michael Harp died when he was thrown from a raft into the Green River in the Colorado portion of the park.

Harp was a second-generation firefighter with the Salt Lake City Fire Department for 27 years and was deployed to Ground Zero following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the fire department said in a statement.

“His legacy of service, leadership, compassion and infectious laughter will be forever remembered by all who knew him,” the department wrote.

Firefighter dies after boat gets stuck in rapids

According to the park administration, Harp was on an approved private tour on the Green River at the time of the accident.

The park service was notified Thursday that a boat was stuck in Hells Half Mile Rapids, a Class III/IV rapid. Harp was under the boat.