By Denyse C. Middleton
The Herald (South Carolina)
Copyright 2006 McClatchy Newspapers Inc.
All Rights Reserved
CHESTER, S.C. — Chester County fire coordinator Carl Tate died late Monday after he suffered an apparent heart attack, authorities said. Tate, 50, died at Springs Memorial Hospital in Lancaster, where he was transported after having the apparent heart attack at home.
The news of Tate’s death came as a surprise to all, said county emergency management director Eddie Murphy. Tate was to board a flight to Florida on Tuesday to attend a three-day equipment training session.
“The last thing I said to him was, ‘Have a good trip, and be careful,’” Murphy said. “Then this happened suddenly in the night.” Fairfield County Deputy Coroner Barkley Ramsey said it appears that Tate’s death is heart-related, but an autopsy will be performed today. Tate was a dedicated and professional Chester County employee for 24 years, said County Manager Avery Frick.
“We were shocked and saddened by the untimely death of Carl Tate,” Frick said. “He will be missed by all of Chester County.” As county fire coordinator since 2001, Tate served as a liaison between the county’s 11 rural fire departments and the Chester County Rural Fire Commission, Murphy said. Tate coordinated the budgets, training and equipment for the 11 departments.
Front and center during mill fire
Tate was dedicated to his immediate family and extended family of firefighters, said Richburg Fire Chief John Agee. He bore the brunt of the hard work during the recent mill fire in Great Falls, Agee said.
The fire at the former J.P. Stevens Mill No. 3 began early June 6 and burned for a week. Dangerous smoke filled the air and caused a mandatory evacuation for half the town. But throughout that difficult period during the fire, Tate and his fellow firefighters stayed the course because “the fire service is a brotherhood; it’sa closeness,” Murphy said.
Agee agreed.
“Carl Tate was my friend, first and foremost,” Agee said trying to hold back tears. “He was really dedicated to the men and women in fire service in Chester County.”
Tate also shared a work-related closeness with co-workers in the emergency management office, said Pat Holcombe.
She first worked with Tate at the county’s EMS department for 11 years beginning in 1987. But when he became fire coordinator, she told the staff, “There is nobody better I could work with.”
“He loved life. He never said anything bad about anybody,” Holcombe said. “He wasn’t just my co-worker — he was my good friend.”