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Coleman “Coley” Blease Loadholt

Firefighter/EMT

Firefighter/EMT Loadholt was on-duty in his fire station performing apparatus and fire station maintenance.  He told another firefighter that he was experiencing chest pains and that he wanted to be connected to a cardiac monitor.  The monitor showed an issue with his heart and the paramedic firefighter that administered the test advised Firefighter/EMT Loadholt to be transported to the hospital.  Firefighter/EMT Loadholt refused and said that he would address the issue when he was off-duty.

Very shortly thereafter, Firefighter/EMT Loadholt collapsed to his knees and stated that he needed to go to the hospital.  While enroute, he went into cardiac arrest several times, but he regained a pulse and respirations before arriving at the local hospital emergency room.  He was stabilized and transferred to a regional cardiac care facility where he died as the result of his illness on June 21, 2019.

Firefighter/EMT Loadholt was also a volunteer firefighter and he had responded to two emergency incidents in the 24-hours prior to reporting for duty at Jasper County Fire Rescue.

photo of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial
Coleman “Coley” Blease Loadholt was included in the USFA’s annual report Firefighter Fatalities in the United States.

Department information

Jasper County Fire Rescue
1509 Grays Highway
Ridgeland, South Carolina 29936

Chief: Frank Edwards

Age: 51
Rank: Firefighter/EMT
Classification: Career
Incident date: June 17, 2019 08:15
Date of death: June 21, 2019
Cause of fatal injury: Stress/Overexertion
Nature of fatal injury: Heart Attack
Activity type: Not On Scene
Emergency duty: No
Duty type: Other On-Duty
Fixed property use: N/A

Last updated: July 09, 2020