A veteran firefighter from a county in western North Carolina has died after being involved in a wreck while responding to a call.
The Citizen Times reports that Jonathan Creek Fire and Rescue Capt. Claud Messer, 74, was involved in an accident on U.S. 276, north of Maggie Valley in Haywood County while responding to a call for a crash early Friday.
Highway Patrol trooper Mike Holcombe said that at about 6 a.m. Friday, Messer was driving a marked truck en route to the unrelated accident on Cove Creek Road. That's when he rear-ended a log truck that was slowing down to make a left turn into a lumber yard and was killed.
According to the Citizen Times, Capt. Messer was a founding member of the Jonathan Creek department in 1986 and also served as chairman of the agency's board of directors.
"We lost a brother today. He was a pillar of this community, and I can’t think of a time where he wasn’t helping someone," Jonathan Creek Fire and Rescue Chief Bob Messer said in a statement. "I cannot remember a time we didn’t talk at least two times a day. We are devastated."
It's unclear if Chief Messer was related to the fallen firefighter.
Firehouse.com News will update this story when we learn more details.
