South Carolina Firefighter Dies After Responding To General Alarm Fire

South Carolina firefighter Kenneth Eugene Sterling, 43, suffered a heart attack and died Saturday, April 10, after responding to a general fire alarm.

Sterling was awakened from his sleep at approximately 7 a.m. and responded with the Westview-Fairforest Fire and EMS truck. He returned to the station with other firefighters at 7:30 a.m. and left the station when his shift ended at 8 a.m.

At 1 p.m. he was driving alone in his own car to visit his parents, David Eugene and Brazella Snoddy Sterling, in Greer, SC. His father's brother had passed away in the latter part of last week and he was going to help make funeral plans when, an eye-witness reported, Sterling swerved off the road and was seen slumped over at the wheel. A nearby fire department from Greenville County responded, but they were unable to revive him.