"Shocking," is how Cobb County Fire Chief Randy Crider described the sudden death of Cobb County firefighter Stacey Boulware after she collapsed while on duty at Fire Station #5 in Vinings Monday afternoon.
Boulware, an 18-year-veteran of the department, had just completed her annual physical abilities assessment Monday morning at the main Cobb County Fire Headquarters facility on County Services Parkway in Marietta early Monday morning.
The test is an annual timed examination of a firefighter's capabilities in relation to a standardized battery of physical tasks, including stair climbing, utilizing firefighting tools, dragging a victim and raising a ladder, among other tasks. Crider says it is normal for a firefighter to fully expend their energy while performing this test, as it requires the best each person has to offer.
Before the assessment, all of your vitals are taken.
The chief says firefighters have a maximum of 11 minutes and 30 seconds to perform the test. He said Boulware was not pleased with her time.
"She completed it in 10-something," Crider said.
The test proctors typically ask the participants how they are feeling once they complete the test, then they give participants an opportunity to rest and recover.
"The training division will allow you to sit in rehab and see how you feel after you've completed the physical abilities assessment," Crider said. "Her only remarks were that she was disappointed in her time. She wanted to do better."
After about a half-hour or so, Boulware said she needed to head to the fire station, and drove to Fire Station #5, located on Paces Ferry Road in Vinings.
Crider said that between the time she arrived at the fire station and the time of the incident, Boulware went out with crews on two separate calls -- an auto accident with injuries, followed by a "full arrest" call, which means someone having a heart attack. During the two calls, Crider said she performed as normal, though during the second call, he said that her co-workers said they thought she acted "a little stand-offish."
"Once they got back to the station, from what I understand, she started having chest pains," Crider said.
EMTs began to work on her at the fire station, and transported her to Kennestone Hospital, but she was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Crider described Boulware as a great firefighter and someone who was loved as a member of the family.
He said she was very active, and someone who played tennis and basketball. He said she worked out regularly, though she had not done as much of that lately, as she was in paramedic school, which took quite a bit of her time.
She had a small family -- Crider said he spoke with her father in Kansas City, who said she had one sister. He said they are heartbroken by the loss.
Crider says the death of Boulware is the first active duty loss for the department since 1985.
