VA Department Mourning Loss of Firefighter Found in Pond

Big Island firefighters are mourning the loss of one of their own.

Lt. Mel Nowlin, a paramedic and firefighter, was a longtime volunteer with Big Island Volunteer Fire Company.

Crews got a call to Nowlin's property for a missing person on Dec. 30. The Bedford County Special Operations Command responded, along with Big Island Volunteer Fire Company, Big Island Emergency Crew, Forest Volunteer Fire Department, Bedford Fire Department, Moneta Volunteer Fire Department, Boonsboro Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company, and Bedford County Department of Fire and Rescue, according to WDBJ.