The chief firefighter of a small western Massachusetts town died battling a two-alarm blaze, it was reported on Wednesday.
Stephen P. Frye, 59, collapsed at the scene of a chimney fire in Montgomery, the Boston Herald reported.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
‘He was the best, he was the absolutely best, you couldn’t ask for a better person,’ an unidentified woman said she was Frye’s sister-in-law told the Herald.
‘He would give you give the shirt off his back. He was the best of the best of the best.’
The chief firefighter of a small western Massachusetts town died battling a two-alarm blaze, it was reported on Wednesday. Stephen P. Frye (above), 59, collapsed at the scene of a chimney fire in Montgomery
Frye had climbed the ranks of the Montgomery Fire Department, which he joined in 1993
The fire department received an emergency call at around 11:08pm, Massachusetts authorities told the Herald.
Firemen rushed to 1524 Southampton Road. Frye was among the firefighters battling the blaze.
‘Immediate aid was rendered by firefighters that were with him and the Hilltown Ambulance that was already on scene,’ a spokesperson for the Department of Fire Services told the Herald.
‘He was transported to Bay State Noble Hospital in Westfield where he was pronounced dead.’
Frye had climbed the ranks of the Montgomery Fire Department, which he joined in 1993.
He served as the department chief for the past 13 years.
Frye leaves behind a wife and two adult children – a son and a daughter.
His son is also a member of Montgomery’s all-volunteer fire department. He was at the scene where his father collapsed.
‘Immediate aid was rendered by firefighters that were with him and the Hilltown Ambulance that was already on scene,’ Mieth said in a statement.
‘He was transported to Bay State Noble Hospital in Westfield where he was pronounced dead.’
Montgomery is a small town just west of Springfield, Massachusetts. Its population is slightly less than 1,000 residents.
The residents of the home were able to escape the fire before it engulfed their house and destroyed it.