Pentwater Fire Captain John Sayles Dead at 38

[XLFD]

According to the Mason County Press:

 

PENTWATER — The area lost a well-known citizen last night after John Sayles died. John was 38-years-old and leaves behind his wife, Melanie, and their three young daughters.

John was a captain on the Pentwater Fire Department and was active in the Western Michigan Old Engine Club. He often drove the club’s 1920′s LaFrance fire truck in parades.

According to Nick Lascari, who once served with John on the department, John was changing a tire last night around 6 p.m. when he started complaining of chest pain. He called the ambulance which brought him to a Muskegon hospital. He was then transported to Grand Rapids where he was to undergo open heart surgery for an aortic aneurysm. Lascari said John died in the ambulance en-route to Grand Rapids.

http://www.masoncountypress.com/2012/11/15/pentwater-fire-captain-j...

Although I never served alongside John, we did take the lengthy Fire Officer 1 course together, and one or two weekend training sessions together besides.  He was a good man, and Pentwater and their fire department will have a difficult time replacing someone of his calibre.  Ironically, he died in an ambulance, a place he was often in his activities as a Medical First Responder.

Here is his stats:  http://www.pentwaterfiredepartment.com/members.html?id=59615. 

And here he is in full gear with Pentwater's Second Grade teaching fire safety.  One of his three daughters among them.   

 

[Jane]

Wow! 38 is so young for something like that, so sad for his family.

[XLFD]

The US Fire Administration put out a firefighter fatality report on Firefighter/Captain Sayles:

"Fire Captain Sayles responded with his fire department to a working residential structure fire. Fewer than twenty-four hours later, Sayles was at home when he experienced chest pain and difficulty breathing. Emergency assistance was summoned and he was transported to the hospital. After being evaluated and while being transported to a second hospital for surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm, it ruptured, resulting in Captain Sayles death.  Incident Location: 2419 W Washington RD, Hart, MI (USNG: 16T EP 5128 3895)"

http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/fatalityData/detai...

Could there have been a connection between his work on the structure fire and his demise on the same day due to cardiovascular issues?  It deserves a second look at least.