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A veteran Montgomery County firefighter who suffered an "emergency" during a house fire in Laurel died Saturday evening.
Firefighters from Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties were dispatched to the house fire on Bradford Lane around 5 p.m.
"We were responding to mutual aid for a house fire, and during that house fire, an emergency happened within the emergency, where we had to perform cardio pulmonary resuscitation efforts to our firefighter," Montgomery County Fire Chief Corey Smedley told DCNewsNow. "We transported him to a regional hospital, where, unfortunately, he succumbed to his medical condition."
Smedley said the 46-year-old firefighter was with the department for 22 years and held the rank of master firefighter.
Fire officials said the fire was reported to be in a carport and a mayday was called during the early parts of the incident.
"Montgomery County has lost one of its brave firefighters, and this is one of those jobs where every time somebody goes out, everybody understands there's a risk that they're not coming home," County Executive Marc Elrich said. "And that's what I think makes these jobs so incredibly difficult."
Firefighters gathered at White Oak Medical Center in Silver Spring Saturday night as the fallen firefighter's remains were transported to the medical examiner in Baltimore where firefighters line the travel route to salute their comrade.
“To our community, we are still here for you; even during this tough time, we are going to still ensure that we are protecting our community,” Smedley said. “I just ask that things that happen over the next couple of days, you bear with us, it is going to be a very difficult time for each and every one of us.”
