A Columbia-Adair County firefighter died Friday morning after suffering a heart attack while battling a residential fire on June 30, according to The Adair Progress.
Firefighter Charles Sparks, 49, was operating inside a burning structure on Liberty Road just after 3 a.m. when he fell ill.
Fellow firefighters administered CPR and an AED on him until Adair County EMS arrived.
He was transported to Westlake Regional Hospital and then airlifted to Norton's Audubon Hospital in Louisville, where he had remained until his death.
Sparks is the first firefighter to die of fire-related injuries in the history of the Columbia-Adair County Volunteer Fire Department.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
