WHITE HOUSE, Tenn. -- Local firefighters were dispatched to Greenbrier in Robertson County early Sunday morning to a wreck that claimed the life of one of their own.

Video: Firefighter Killed In Wreck

Lt. Brad Hutcherson, 25, left the fire hall to head home but never reached his destination.

"This station is very close," said District Chief Mike Bauer with the White House Volunteer Fire Department. "There's just about 12 of us out here. We're all on every call."

Hutcherson did not respond to the call to the car wreck at 2:30 a.m., and his colleagues discovered why.

Two miles into his drive home, Hutcherson crashed into a ditch on Betts Road.

The cause of the crash remains undetermined. Responders said it he did not appear to have been wearing a seat belt. Responders tried to perform CPR, but Hutcherson died on the scene.

Fellow firefighter Gerald Wakefield has known Hutcherson since he was 10 years old, and said he was a natural.

Firefighting was in his blood -- Hutcherson's father was a firefighter with Robertson County.

"Anything anybody ever needed, [Hutcherson was] there to help him," said Wakefield.

Wakefield said Hutcherson joined the department when he was 18, and was a mentor to other aspiring firefighters.

White House Fire Department holds a junior firefighter program where teens spend weekends at the hall learning.

"He helped a lot of them. Some didn't have a father figure and he was somebody for that," said Wakefield.

Many of those kids rode with the first responders to the scene Sunday morning, hoping to see a rescue. The department got them away from the scene as soon as they realized Hutcherson had been involved.

Station 52 closed Sunday out of respect for the dead. It will open again Monday. In the meantime, departments in neighboring Greenbrier and Pleasant View will be taking over all calls.

The White House Fire Department issued a statement saying that they are grateful to the neighboring departments for their help, and are also thankful for area chaplains who responded to the scene and to provide on-site counseling for the junior firefighters and Hutcherson's colleagues.

White House firefighters said this is another tragic reminder to always wear your seat belt.

Hutcherson's death marks the first in the department's 25-year history.