Gary D. Street‚ a firefighter with the Eastlake Sinclair Fire Department‚ Hancock County Station #2‚ suddenly passed away during an emergency medical response call on Saturday‚ October 17‚ 2009‚ from an apparent heart attack. After he suddenly collapsed‚ medical personnel on the scene provided care; however‚ all procedures failed to revive him.

Gary was 60 years old and had three daughters. He was originally from Florida and attended school there. He was attending college when he was drafted into the Army which‚ by the way‚ he thought was the only way to keep from getting drafted. Even though he was drafted‚ Gary served his country gallantly for four years as a Special Forces troop‚ spending two of those four years in Vietnam fighting for our freedom and our country. Once Gary finished his tour of duty‚ he continued his schooling. He worked with companies throughout the U.S.‚ as well as in other countries‚ in the computer and IT world. At the time of his death he was working for GMC in the IT department‚ helping college kids.

We were blessed to have Gary come to our fire department approximately six years ago when he arrived in the Eastlake community from New Jersey. He immediately made an impact with his friendly demeanor‚ ability to make friends‚ and his untiring desire to help make Hancock County a better place to live. Gary joined the fire department and completed his training and live burn in Sandersville. He then became an emergency medical responder (EMR)‚ along with 12 other individuals. Immediately after graduating from the EMR class‚ Gary attended a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training class so he could teach other personnel what actions to take during any natural disaster or other emergency conditions. He was the only certified instructor for this program in Hancock County.

In addition to all of the above accomplishments‚ Gary created‚ edited‚ and maintained the Eastlake Sinclair VFD Web site. His efforts in this arena have drawn him praise from all his colleagues‚ as well as other firefighters throughout the state. Gary was extremely involved with other community programs such as the fire auxiliary‚ where he was elected to serve as vice president shortly before his death. Despite being extremely busy with all his other activities‚ he was always ready to help anyone in need.

Gary was a unique individual who we all will dearly miss in the Eastlake Sinclair and Hancock County community.