Burnsville firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth remembered by friends

BURNSVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - Longtime friends of firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth are remembering the fallen first responder, days after he was killed alongside two police officers during a standoff in Burnsville on Feb. 18.

Finseth, 40, grew up in Rochester, Minnesota, and attended John Marshall High School. His childhood friends say he had a heart for service and could make anyone feel welcome.

"He was so unselfish in his life. So incredibly unselfish," longtime friend Matt Arnold told FOX 9.

Arnold met Finseth in third grade and said he was the glue that kept their friend group together after all these years.

"He just genuinely cared about anyone who was a part of his life. You never felt distant from him even if there was a lot of time in between," said Arnold. "The world has just lost one of the most genuine human beings that I have ever known."

Finseth was an Iraq War veteran, who Arnold says was always called to help others. When Arnold learned that Finseth died trying to render aid to one of the officers struck by gunfire, he wasn’t surprised. 

"If he had to choose how to go out, this was it," said Arnold. "To know that he did that and sacrificed himself knowing he was in danger in order to save someone else – he’s a hero."

Finseth was a husband and father to young children.