By Adam Crisp
The Chattanooga Times Free Press
DALTON, Ga. — A firefighter is recovering after suffering a heart attack while fighting a downtown blaze Thursday.
Streets were closed and there were power outages following a fire at Hurt’s Cleaners on King Street just before 11 a.m., said Bruce Frazier, a fire department spokesman.
As of press time, firefighter Mark Richardson was listed in stable condition in the intensive care unit at Hamilton Medical Center, Frazier said.
Firefighters had the blaze under control within 30 minutes, Frazier said, but Richardson, 38, fell ill while firefighters were still trying to extinguish the blaze.
“Everyone was really concerned for him, and we were all relieved to hear that he was going to be OK,” Frazier said.
Among firefighters nationally, heart attacks are common.
“Stroke and heart attack kill 50 percent of firefighters in service-related deaths,” said Billy Goldsetter, chairman of the safety, health and survival section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. “So if you are a candidate for a heart problem, the heat can bring on some real problems.”
It wasn’t immediately clear what caused Richardson’s attack, Frazier said.
Investigators still are looking into the blaze, but Frazier said it appeared to be started by a faulty commercial clothes dryer.
On Thursday, King Street in front of the cleaners was closed and power outages were scattered throughout downtown. By evening, however, traffic and electricity were restored to normal, Frazier said.
The Hurt’s building was severely damaged, but its walls and roof still appeared to be intact, he said. Some neighboring businesses — Bradwell Lock and Key and Powell’s Country Kitchen — have smoke damage, Frazier said.
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