A North Carolina fire captain died while returning home Monday night after finishing his shift.
According to the Waxhaw Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, Capt. Ronald McGarvey died shortly after 8 p.m. when he suffered what the department called “a fatal medical emergency” after the completion of his shift while in transit to his home.
A Union County Sheriff’s deputy was first on the scene. The department said the deputy initiated care and fellow Waxhaw firefighters soon arrived to render aid, but they were unable to revive McGarvey.
“They saw his truck and thought he was there already ahead of us, doing what he always did, serving the community,” Fire Chief Greg Sharpe said during a Monday afternoon news conference. “And it was a huge shock when they found out it was him.”
Sharpe said McGarvey’s death is considered a line-of-duty death.
“Captain McGarvey lived a life of devotion. Devotion to his fire department family, devotion to his church family, and especially devotion to his home family,” Sharpe said.
McGarvey is survived by his wife and two children.
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