MARQUETTE — Governor Gretchen Whitmer has ordered U.S. and Michigan flags to be lowered to half-staff on Saturday to honor the life and service of Forsyth Township firefighter Benjamen “Ben” Lauren, who was killed in the line of duty.

“As an up-and-coming leader in his community, the death of firefighter Ben Lauren is a tragic loss for our state,” Whitmer said in a press release. “The flags will be lowered to honor Ben and serve as a reminder of his selfless sacrifice. My thoughts will be with his family as they lay him to rest.”

Lauren, 23, was fatally injured after the FTFD was called to the scene of a structure fire at 108 Albatross in K.I. Sawyer Friday evening. The cause of the fire and fatal accident remains under investigation.

He was a third-generation volunteer firefighter. His father and sister are also members of the FTFD, a Forsyth Township Facebook post states.

Lauren was a resident of Gwinn. He graduated from Gwinn High School in 2014 before attending Northern Michigan University, where he earned a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering Technology degree in 2018. He was a member of the Forsyth Township Fire Department, and received the Forsyth Township Fireman of the Year award in 2018. Ben also worked as a maintenance planner at Verso Paper in Escanaba.

Due to COVID-19, a private service will be held at the Canale-Gwinn Funeral Home Saturday followed by a final drive to the Forsyth Township Fire Hall, his obituary published in Wednesday’s Mining Journal states.

“Further burial and honorable processional activities will welcome Ben’s extended family, friends and the entire community with a tentative date of May 23,” the obituary reads.

In lieu of flowers, an account is set up at Honor Credit Union to be used to create a foundation in Lauren’s memory. Memorial tributes can be shared on the Honoring Ben Lauren Facebook page.

The State of Michigan recognizes the duty, honor and selfless service of Fire Fighter Ben Lauren by lowering flags to half-staff. Michigan residents, businesses, schools, local governments and other organizations also are encouraged to display the flag at half-staff.

To lower flags to half-staff, flags should be hoisted first to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The process is reversed before the flag is lowered for the day, the press release states.

Flags should be returned to full-staff on Sunday.