RETIRED
FIREFIGHTER DIES AFTER HE WAS 'SWEPT AWAY' ON FLOODED LANCASTER ROAD IN
LANCASTER COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA
LANCASTER A former firefighter died when he was
"swept away" after getting out of his truck on a flooded road,
according to emergency officials in Lancaster County.
Danny Ray Deese, 60, a retired firefighter with the
Buford Fire Department, has been identified as the victim in the incident,
which occurred at about 6:45 a.m. on Duckwood Road in Lancaster, Deputy Coroner
Tony Broome said. A cause of death will be determined once an autopsy is
completed, he said.
It appears Deese's Ford Ranger pickup got stuck in a
flooded culvert, Lancaster County Fire Marshal Stephen Blackwelder said. When
Deese got out of his vehicle, Blackwelder said, he was "swept away, well
off of the road" into a flooded creek downstream.
Deese was a firefighter with the Buford Fire Department
in eastern Lancaster County for 21 years, Blackwelder said. He was assistant
chief of the department before going inactive in January 2014 to tend to his
wife's health issues. His son is a firefighter with the Lancaster City Fire
Department.
"You don't get to 21 years without loving what you
do and being good at it," Blackwelder said.
Emergency crews recovered his body just before 11 a.m.
His truck was washed 100 yards downstream.
Crews from the Lancaster, Lancaster County and Flat
Creek fire departments all reported to the scene.