Local firefighters, state representatives, and community members gathered to honor a fallen firefighter on Saturday.
Battalion Chief Josh Carney died of cancer in October, and, according to Georgetown County officials, his diagnosis stemmed from his nearly two-decade career as a firefighter.
“Chief Carney had a saying, and somebody said it earlier – ‘jump out of your socks and help somebody,'” said State Senator Stephen Goldfinch. He and other members of Midway Fire Rescue said those were words Carney lived by. “He demanded that of his crews. He demanded that of his firefighters, and that just made this community a little bit better,” said Goldfinch. Midway Fire Chief Doug Eggiman added, “His void has been very hard to fill. The loss hurt everyone. He meant so much to the department, and I don’t think he realized how much he meant to the department.”
Carney was diagnosed with an aggressive form of melanoma last June, and lost his battle with cancer about four months later. He served the fire department for 18 years. “Seeing it happen to someone as close, as near and dear as Josh really drove it home to people that this is real, and it hurts,” said Eggiman.
Senator Goldfinch and State Representative Lee Hewitt presented Carney’s family with a resolution honoring Carney’s service. Midway Fire Rescue also retired Carney’s number, which is the first time the department has ever done so. “The retiring of the number is a bit overwhelming, knowing that 646 will always be Josh, and not any other person that comes to Midway,” said his widow, Lillian Carney. “We were getting inundated with firefighters suggesting us to do the same thing,” said Eggiman. “It felt like the right thing to do.”
Lillian Carney has also since dedicated herself to helping firefighters step up cancer prevention efforts, so they don’t suffer the same fate as her husband. “I do not want another wife at Midway, or another wife anywhere to have to be handed the folded flag that was once on her husband’s casket,” she said.
