FACTORYVILLE, Pa. — A 58-year-old firefighter collapsed at the scene of a house fire and later died at the hospital.
PaHomePage reported that Asst. Fire Chief Russ Gow, with the Factoryville (Pa.) Fire Company, was helping at the scene of a fire that broke out Wednesday night. The occupants of the home were not injured, according to the report.
Chief Gow first joined Factoryville Fire Company in 1971 as a junior firefighter and even served as chief throughout his tenure, according to the report.
“I went through firefighter one and I don’t think I could do it without him and then I went through firefighter two and again he was there for me,” said Factoryville Fire Company Firefighter Bridget White. “As firefighters it’s just not Factoryville. It’s the whole entire firefighting community. We are all brothers and sisters so it is a huge loss.”
Chief Gow’s death is the second suffered by Factoryville Fire Company this year. It comes just months after another dedicated volunteer firefighter JJ Lomax was killed after being electrocuted in June while helping at the scene of a car crash, according to the report.
“Oh, it tears us. It hurts,” said Lomax’s nephew Cory Brower, who’s a junior firefighter with Factoryville Fire Company. “Especially the two that we lost. They were... they were unbelievable people.”