HENDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — A Tennessee fire department is mourning the loss of its fire chief after a cardiac arrest event left him with “life-ending brain damage,” according to physicians.
Henderson County Fire Chief Joseph Lynn Murphy died on Dec. 20, WSMV reported. Murphy had suffered a medical emergency within 24 hours of responding to an emergency call on Dec.17.
“Chief Lynn Murphy suffered a cardiac arrest event Tuesday evening within 24 hours of answering an emergency call. He was taken to the hospital in Jackson where he regained a pulse, but has not regained consciousness,” the Tennessee Fire Chiefs Association posted on social media. “During testing [Dec. 19], the physicians advised that he has sustained life-ending brain damage.”
According to his obituary, Murphy began his emergency services career as a teenager with Henderson County Fire Department Station 3 and rose to District Chief. In 1977, he became Henderson County Fire Chief, serving until his death, and also led the Tennessee Fire Chiefs Association as President.
The Henderson County Emergency Management Agency shared that the fire department honored Murphy’s tradition of cooking Christmas breakfast on Monday.
