On Saturday, May 9, 2026, the following names will be added to the North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Memorial at the annual ceremony in downtown Raleigh. 

George T. Parham
Gastonia
Oct 10, 1953
Suffered a heart attack while assisting with station duties on the second floor of Station 1. He was given artificial respiration by other firefighters. He died at the hospital. He was 50 years old. 

Otis Clarence Montgomery
Horneytown
Aug 16, 1962
Died after suffering a heart attack while returning from an automobile fire in Davidson County, while operating a pumper. He was about 57 years old. 

Joe Lewis Willey
Weldon
Nov 18, 1969
Died after suffering a medical emergency while attending a meeting at the fire station. The cause of death was reported in a newspaper as a heart attack, but his certificate of death listed cerebral hemorrhage. He was 56 years old. 

William Edward Proctor Sr.
Falkland
Sep 13, 2021
Proctor was a volunteer firefighter and assistant fire chief. He contracted COVID while on duty in August 2021. He died at the hospital due to COVID on September 13, 2021. He was 71 years old. Source: NCIC.

Van William Boles
Pinnacle
Jan 02, 2023
Boles was a volunteer firefighter. He died at his home after suffering a sudden cardiac event and less than 13 hours after responding to an emergency call. He was 58 years old. Source: NCIC.

Gabriella Vincenzia Crespo
New Hope (Orange County)
Aug 30, 2023
Crespo was volunteer firefighter. She died at the scene of a motorcycle crash on Mount Moriah Road and approximately five minutes after leaving Station 1, where she and another volunteer were starting their orientation as new members of the department. While riding her motorcycle, she struck another vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene. She was 20 years old. Source: NCIC. 

Johnny Alvin Goines
Verona
Nov 23, 2024
Goines was a volunteer firefighter. He died after suffering a medical emergency while responding to a vehicle accident. The accident scene was less than a mile from his home. After working the scene of the accident, he left in his personal vehicle to return to his home, nearby on High Hill Road. Shortly afterward, at about 11:11 p.m., he was involved a single-vehicle accident, when his personal vehicle crossed the center line and left the roadway. First responders found him unresponsive in his vehicle, which was in a ditch. Despite resuscitation efforts, he was pronounced dead at Onslow Memorial Hospital at 12:16 a.m. on November 23, 2024. The cause of death was determined as a result of a cardiac event. He was 69 years old. Source: NCIC. 

Christopher Edward Rothmeyer
New London
Mar 05, 2025
Rothmeyer was a volunteer firefighter. He was responding to a call on the morning of March 5, 2025, to the scene of a water rescue in progress. While traveling on NC Highway 8, the vehicle he was operating rounded a curve, ran off the roadway to the right, went down an embankment, and struck a tree. He died later that day at the hospital. He was 27 years old. Source: NCIC.  

Michael Lynn Scott
Sunny Point
Apr 20, 2025
Scott was the Fire Chief of Sunny Point Fire Department, which protects Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point. He died of occupational gallbladder cancer after a nine-month battle. He was a 28-year veteran firefighter and had worked at Sunny Point since 2011. He was 51 years old. Source: NFFF. 

David Raymond Creger
Troy
Apr 25, 2025
Greger was an assistant fire chief. He was diagnosed with rectal melanoma in 2016. The cancer metastasized into his lungs and liver in 2024. After years of treatment, the cancer became more aggressive in 2024. It spread throughout his body until his death. The cancer was determined as occupational-related. He was 63 and had been a member of TFD since 1988. He remained an active member until his death. Source: NCIC. 

Jake Wayne Bridges
Hickory
Jun 05, 2025
Bridges was a career firefighter. He suffered a medical emergency at fire station and shortly after returning from a structure fire. He been working at the scene for about three hours at an early-morning residential structure fire. The last HFD unit cleared the scene shortly before 5 a.m. About 15 minutes later, back at the fire station, Bridges was found on the stairs and in cardiac arrest. Despite resuscitation efforts, he was pronounced dead at the fire station. He was 20 years old. 

Violet Ray Caramella
Riceville
Jun 14, 2025
Caramella was a paid firefighter/EMT. She was operating a UTV and returning from a training exercise in Montreat. The training was on the use of UTVs and involved several fire departments, including Riceville. At the end of the training, at approximately 3:30 p.m., the participating UTVs headed back to a parking lot. Caramella was involved in a single-vehicle crash, after her UTV left the roadway and struck a tree. She was pronounced dead at the scene. She was 35 years old.