By Richard Robbins
Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
STOCKDALE, Pa. — A former Washington County fire chief died Saturday between training exercises at the Westmoreland County Fire Training Center in South Huntingdon, family and friends said yesterday.
Sean Whiten, 47, of Stockdale, a Roscoe fire captain and a state certified fire training instructor, fell ill around 11 a.m. yesterday. He was pronounced dead close to noon at Monongahela Valley Hospital in Carroll Township, Washington County.
“He loved to do training,” said Whiten’s brother, Robert Whiten Jr., the fire chief in Charleroi. “He died doing what he loved to do.”
Whiten was an East Coast sales representative for a tool manufacturing company.
An outstanding football player at Charleroi High School, Whiten won a scholarship to Indiana State University in Terra Haute, Ind., where he played center.
Roscoe Fire Chief Ted Mauk said Whiten “was resting when he collapsed.”
Mauk said Whiten was “not responsive” when attempts were made to revive him.
Whiten was conducting a class at the training center, his brother said.
“They were doing everything by the book. They checked his pulse and blood pressure. Everything looked all right,” Robert Whiten said.
Whiten apparently retreated to his vehicle after one fire fighting drill. His body was discovered next to the vehicle, his brother said.
The Washington County Coroner’s Office was not immediately available for comment on the cause of death. Robert Whiten said an autopsy would be performed.
Whiten hailed from a family of firefighters. His father, Robert Whiten Sr., was a former Charleroi fire chief, survives him, as does his wife, Linda, and a son, Sean Robert.
“I would say Sean had something to do with teaching three-quarters of the firemen in the area at one time or another,” Mauk said. “The fire service in general has suffered a great loss.”
Whiten served as chief in Roscoe for three years. He left the post last year, Mauk said. He was a former fire fighter for both the Charleroi and Stockdale departments.
Josh Bradshaw, a junior Roscoe firemen, said Whiten was in a jovial mood at bingo on Friday night.
“He was teasing me about football. He said, ‘If you want to challenge me, I’m ready.’ He was a great guy.”
Copyright 2008 Tribune-Review