A medical emergency claimed the life of a Kanawha (W.Va.) County firefighter Monday afternoon.
According the local television station WCHS TV8, John Appleton, 62, of Malden, suffered cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at the local hospital after responding to a structure fire.
The Charleston Daily Mail, a local newspaper, said firefighters were battling a mobile home fire in Sissonville when Appleton went into cardiac arrest at the scene.
The mobile home was destroyed, but no other injuries were reported, according to the newspaper.
Appleton arrived at the scene with the Malden department’s engine on an automatic response to the structure fire, according to the paper.
The firefighter walked a short, but steep hill to fire crews to find out what was needed when he said he felt overheated and sat in a shady spot.
Paramedics took Appleton to a rehabilitation area where he apparently went into cardiac arrest, according to the paper. Appleton was rushed to Charleston (W.Va.) Area Medical Center’s General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The television station said Appleton with the Malden Fire Department for the past seven years and served as the pastor of the Kanawha Salines Presbyterian Church in Malden, according to the television station.
He is the third Kanawha County firefighter to die in the line of duty in the last four years. All have been volunteers.
