By FireRescue1 Staff
LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. — After losing her firefighter brother in the line of duty earlier this year, one woman is giving back to the firefighting community.
Sherrills Ford Fire Department Capt. Bradley Long’s sister, Amy Shearer, is raising funds to send to firefighters battling the vicious wildfires in Tennessee. Capt. Long, 28, died during a dive rescue June 6. An autopsy later concluded that he died from a gas embolism.
Shearer was already organizing to send relief to those affected by the wildfires when conditions significantly worsened in Gatlinburg.
“I know if my brother were here he would be the first one to say ‘Can I go help. Can I go jump in?’” Shearer told WBTV. “And since he can’t do it — I can’t fight a fire but I can try to help the firefighters that are.”
Shearer is collecting donations until Saturday at the Sherrills Ford Fire Department and Pineville Volunteer Fire Department. Bottled water, snacks and clothing are encouraged to be donated.
For Shearer and her family, Gatlinburg was a frequent vacation spot in the past.
“It’s a vacation spot for a lot of people so it means a lot to a lot of people,” Shearer said. “We are actually planning to go Dec. 26 and 27 on a family vacation there. At this point, I don’t know if we will.”