By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• A White Level, North Carolina, firefighter died after suffering a medical emergency while responding to a house fire on Feb. 10, officials said.
• The incident occurred on Hickory Rock Road in the White Level community of Franklin County.
• The firefighter, identified as 66-year-old Dale Malone, was transported to a hospital, where he later died.
• Fire crews had the fire under control shortly after mid-afternoon, according to emergency services.
• The cause of the house fire is under investigation.
WHITE LEVEL, NC — A veteran firefighter responding to a residential blaze in eastern North Carolina died Tuesday after suffering a medical emergency at the scene, authorities said.
Franklin County emergency crews were dispatched about mid-afternoon Feb. 10 to a house fire on the 1300 block of Hickory Rock Road in the White Level community, according to fire officials.
While responding to the fire, 66-year-old Dale Malone, a safety officer with the White Level Fire Department, suffered a medical emergency, Fire Chief Linwood Powell said. Malone was transported by EMS to a local hospital, where he later died.
Officials said firefighters had brought the blaze under control shortly after 4:30 p.m. The nature of Malone’s medical condition was not immediately released by authorities.
Malone had served in the fire service for decades, and his death marks one of several on-duty fatalities nationally this year, according to fire service records.
Fire investigators continue to examine the cause of the house fire and the circumstances surrounding the medical emergency.