YORK COUNTY, S.C. — A volunteer firefighter is pushing for mandatory cardiac screenings for firefighters, following the recent death of a firefighter who had a heart condition.
Lincoln County firefighter Joshua Warren died in June while exercising on-duty. His death certificate lists his cause of death as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that causes heart muscles to become abnormally thick, making it difficult to pump blood.
Officials said they were unaware of Warren’s condition because firefighters are not required to undergo echocardiograms, which is the only way to detect them.
McConnells Volunteer Fire Department firefighter Richard Burnette, who was recently diagnosed with the same condition, wants to make such screenings a standard procedure for firefighters.
“My mission is to let, not just the fire service, but let public safety know, not just here in York County but everywhere that this is a more common disease than you think,” Burnette told WBTV. “A lot of people don’t know they have it and let’s not be a statistic like firefighter Warren is.”
After feeling abnormally tired and having a higher than usual heart rate following a fire, Burnette went to the ER, where a cardiologist ordered an echocardiogram. He confirmed Burnette had the condition.
“My doctor has said there will be no more firefighting — active firefighting. It was hard but I got to thinking about it — it’s a lesson learned. I feel it’s my time to educate others about what I learned from all this,” Burnette said.
Burnette said he plans to notify the York City Council and York County Fire Board.
“I don’t want someone else after me finding out after the fact again.”