According to investigators, McShan was outside on the second floor balcony. There is also a third floor balcony where some kids were playing.
Officials said McShan was trying to climb to where the children were playing, so he grabbed the railing in an attempt to pull himself up to the third level.
The railing gave way and he fell about 40 feet to his death.
McShan is from Lumberton, just north of Beaumont. He had been with the Port Arthur Fire Department for about two years.
The Galveston County Sheriff's Office is treating this death as a tragic accident.
