A Mississippi fire chief died of COVID-19 this week, the same day a legal agreement was reached that allowed his family to seek treatment for the virus with Ivermectin, according to WTVA-TV.

The news outlet reports that Wayne Doyle, the chief of the Lowndes County District 3 Volunteer Fire Department, died of COVID-19 on Tuesday.

WTVA says Doyle had been hospitalized with the virus at North Mississippi Medical Center in the town of Tupelo. His family had asked the hospital to treat Doyle with Ivermectin — an anti-parasitic drug that has not been proven as an effective treatment against COVID-19. According to WCBI-TV hospital reportedly refused to offer the treatments.

On Tuesday, an agreement was reportedly reached that allowed Doyle's family to move him from North Mississippi Medical Center to another hospital that would offer him Ivermectin. However, Doyle died before his family could move him to another facility.

According to an obituary for Doyle, he served as a volunteer firefighter for 40 years and also owned a local construction company. WTVA says first responders escorted Doyle as his body was taken to a local funeral home.

Ivermectin is a drug commonly used as an anti-parasitic. While several clinical trials have taken place to gauge its effectiveness in fighting COVID-19, the FDA has not issued approval for its use in treating the virus.

Despite the lack of FDA approval for use with COVID-19, the use of Ivermectin has skyrocketed in recent months as media members like Joe Rogan have touted the drug. Late last year, livestock feed stores reported a shortage of Ivermectin products meant for use with large animals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also issued warnings about the non-clinical use of Ivermectin to treat COVID-19, noting that it had seen an increase in calls to poison control centers for Ivermectin overdoses.

BOUTON, Iowa —

Two Iowa towns are saying goodbye to their fire chief.

Ken Cavanaugh died of a heart attack, but not before pulling his school bus full of children off the road and saving their lives.

Cavanaugh was the fire chief in Woodward and Bouton.

"It's real tough. Real tough," said Karl Harris, the Bouton fire department captain.

"Losing one of your own is one of the toughest things you can do," Bouton firefighter Andy Wernli said.

Firefighters in Boutin, Iowa, are saying goodbye to their chief and their best friend. Ken Cavanaugh died Monday of a heart attack. He'd been in the hospital since Oct. 18. That's when he became ill driving a Woodward-Granger school bus. Despite his pain, he was able to pull the bus off the highway and into a soybean field. The kids got out safely.

"I'm sure the first thing he was thinking about is how am I going to keep these kids from getting injured or suffering with a catastrophic school bus crash," said Harris.

His friends are not surprised.

"He cares more about you than himself. He's always been that way," Harris said.

Cavanaugh has been a fire fighter here since 1977. Now the fire station is full of flowers from friends and family. All are remembering a brave and dedicated rescue worker, whose final act was saving so many lives.

"I think if anyone ever mentions Kenny Cavanaugh’s name, hero out to be right there with it," Wernli said.

Harris added, "He’s definitely a hero."

Watch the video above to learn more about this story.

CINCINNATI — Capping off more than three decades with the city, Cincinnati Fire Chief Roy Winston is set to retire on July 24, officials announced Friday.

"I want to thank Chief Winston for his steadfast leadership, his care for the firefighters in his charge, and his commitment to the City of Cincinnati," wrote City Manager Paula Boggs Muething in a memo to the mayor and city council Friday.

Appointed chief in June 2017, Winston previously served as Assistant Fire Chief of Operations and Human Resources, District Fire Chief for Districts One and Four and the Fire Communications Center.

At the time he was appointed chief, he told WCPO he joined the department as an 18-year-old who was unsure what he wanted to do with his life. Over the following years, he grew into his role and discovered a deep love for the career he'd chosen.

City of Cincinnati

"He has served the citizens of Cincinnati with distinction over the course of his 33-year career, and we wish him the best in his retirement and future endeavors," Boggs Muething wrote.

On Friday, the city began its search for a new fire chief.