Elliott County lost two first responders on Tuesday. First, emergency medical technician Drake Adams died. Then, on his way to visit the funeral home where Adams’ body was taken, firefighter Frank Whitt died in a single-vehicle accident. Nancy Kuehner is the chief of Volunteer 504 Fire Department, where Whitt had worked since 2016.
“Our department is doing okay. But I can tell you, for me, it's particularly hard because Frank was a great friend, as he is to most everybody. But he would come to my house to visit once a week. And when I sit on the couch and look at the chair that he always sat in all I can think of as he's not going to sit there anymore.”
Kuehner said Whitt was a great firefighter who was always ready to respond to a call – no matter the time of day or night. She said he spent his last day of his life on the job.
“He came to take our Engine One to get the tire repaired, because we had damaged it at a fire a few days before. And then after that, he took all the trucks that had been at that previous fire to get fueled up. So he was running the trucks back and forth all day long.”
Kuehner said a little girl who’d known Whitt all her life and was lovingly teased by him said, “I don't have anybody to pull my hair anymore.”
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