Updated 2 October
The Fairview Fire Department reported the loss of a firefighter on 1 October. The firefighter died on Sept. 27 while assisting in rescue efforts amid record-breaking flooding in the region, the department posted on social media.
By Bill Carey
29 September 2024
Three firefighters are among the fatalities reported following Hurricane Helene’s landfall on Thursday, September 27.
The first occurred in Georgia. First Coast News reported that Assistant Chief Vernon “Leon” Davis, a part-time assistant fire chief in Blackshear, was killed when a tree fell on his vehicle during then Tropical Storm Helene.
Blackshear Police Chief Chris Wright said Davis had just been clearing up downed trees and power lines before he was killed.
The second and third fatalities occurred in South Carolina.
Two volunteer firefighters in Saluda County died when a tree fell on their fire apparatus.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol informed The State that Circle Fire Department firefighters George Chad Satcher and Landon Cale Bodie died when a tree fell on their fire engine as they were responding to a structure fire near Batesburg-Leesville.
Photograph courtesy of NOAA via AP.
Data Not Drama 