Even though Randy Jones was only 23 years old, he had already helped save countless lives. As a lieutenant with the Cool Springs Volunteer Fire Department and a captain with the Iredell County Rescue Squad, he had more than 15 years of combined fire and rescue experience.
Jones was killed in a traffic accident Monday evening while responding to a house fire on West Page Hager Road off Mocksville Highway. He is the first volunteer firefighter to die in the line of duty in Iredell County, officials said.
At 14, Jones joined the rescue squad as a junior member. About two years later, he became one of the first members of the junior fire-fighting program.
"He was very active," said Jody Sherrill, a friend and assistant chief with the Iredell County Rescue Squad. "It didn't matter if it were three in the afternoon or three in the morning, he'd be there."
Traveling in Jones' full-size Chevrolet pickup truck, Jones and his passenger, fellow volunteer firefighter Pete Morrison, were on Swann Road, which also connects to Mocksville Highway, when the truck ran off the road.
Both men were ejected from the vehicle, according to those who arrived on the scene moments after the crash. Neither man was wearing a seat belt, said authorities.
Jones was transported by helicopter to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, where he was later pronounced dead.
According to volunteers at the fire department, Morrison was still at Baptist Medical Center Tuesday night . The hospital could not provide any information regarding Morrison's condition.
The trailer fire that Jones was responding to has been deemed as a suspicious and is being investigated by the Iredell County Fire Marshal's Office and State Bureau of Investigation.
Authorities said this is the third structure that has caught fire at 267 W. Page Hager Road.
Tuesday afternoon, investigators were waiting for the arrival of a dog that specializes in arson detection to arrive from Charlotte.
"It's just a shame," said Farrell Long, Cool Springs deputy chief. "As volunteer firefighters, we risk our lives and then something like this ... suspicious fire. It's senseless."
Sherrill agreed.
"It wasn't just the fire department and rescue squad that had a loss, but Iredell County took a big loss with Randy," he said.
"He put the fire and rescue service before many things. It is really hard to find someone that dedicated."
That is how many around Jones described him.
"There wasn't nothing that I couldn't ask of him that he wouldn't do," Long said.
The young man dedicated much of his time to volunteering, but he also had plans for himself. According to those closest to him, Jones had aspirations of working in medicine or law enforcement.
Jones was instrumental in bringing a medical response program to the Cool Springs VFD, said Chief David Cline.
Jones' body was brought back to Iredell County on Tuesday afternoon in a procession of emergency vehicles and fire trucks.
Fire departments from Forsyth and Davie counties provided escorts to their county lines.
At the stroke of 6 p.m., Jones' body arrived at Bunch-Johnson Funeral Home on Davie Avenue. His funeral will be Thursday at Western Avenue Baptist Church.
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