(AP)  A firefighter who was killed while helping evacuate a University of Missouri-run apartment complex after a walkway collapsed has been identified as a 23-year veteran of the Columbia Fire Department.

The department says Lt. Bruce Britt was taken to a local hospital Saturday, where he was pronounced dead.

Firefighters were called to University Village Apartments in the central Missouri town just after 4 a.m. Saturday. No residents were injured, but student Ghazwan Alway says he saw the firefighter fall while walking on a part of the balcony that was hanging down.

During the evacuation, some second-floor residents had to climb down a ladder out of their windows. They were told it could be hours or even days before they could retrieve their belongings.

The exterior walkway at University Village apartment complex collapsed about 4 a.m. Saturday, but school officials said no apartment residents were hurt.

University Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin issued a statement Saturday expressing his condolences to the family of the firefighter.