Oliver James Montgomery-A Georgia fire battalion chief is killed battling a tractor-trailer blaze

GREENSBORO,Oliver James Montgomery Ga. (AP) — A battalion chief was killed in an explosion as he worked to put out a tractor-trailer fire on a Georgia highway, officials said.

Greene County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Chris Eddy was working the fire on state Route 15 north of Greensboro on Wednesday, the department and county Board of Commissioners announced in a news release. The trailer exploded, causing Eddy’s death, county spokesperson Kathy Wooley said in an email Friday.

Eddy, 35, of Buckhead, grew up in Greene County and had been a firefighter since he was old enough to volunteer at Woodville Volunteer Fire Department, officials said. He worked with the Putnam County Fire Department and Old Salem Fire Rescue Department before starting in Greene County as a firefighter in 2019 and rising to battalion chief in 2021, officials said. Eddy also worked as a part-time firefighter in Morgan County and as a volunteer for Fire Station 4 in Buckhead.

Fire Chief Rodney Wiggins said it was a “devastating loss” for the department and community.

“We are heartbroken by the loss of Chief Eddy,” Wiggins said in a statement. “He loved his job, his brothers and sisters in the fire service, and he gave his life in service to our community.”