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By Bill Carey
FireRescue1
WILKES COUNTY, N.C. — Authorities in Wilkes County have released the initial details on the deaths of two firefighters on Tuesday.
The Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office said that deputies from its office, along with the Mulberry Fairplains Fire Department and Wilkes County EMS, responded to a shooting on Caudill Road, WGHP reported.
When first responders arrived, they found Daniel Long, 21, performing CPR on Jenna Boles, 19. Deputies said Boles was suffering from a gunshot wound.
EMS personnel took over medical care, but Boles was pronounced dead on the scene, according to WXII.
Deputies said that Long stated multiple times that he shot Boles accidentally.
According to the sheriff’s office, as investigators were working the scene, Long died by suicide.
Long was a firefighter with the Wilkesboro Fire Department, and Boles had accepted a job with the Forsyth County 911 Communications Center. Boles was reportedly involved with the Ronda Fire Department, where one of her parents currently works.
In a Facebook post, the North Wilkesboro Fire Department asked followers to keep Long’s family and friends in their prayers,
The Town of Wilkesboro stated on Facebook that Boles had a strong family background in fire and EMS in the area and had recently accepted a job as a dispatcher.
“Jenna’s family has a strong background in emergency services in Wilkes County with her grandfather serving as Fire Chief for Roaring River Volunteer Fire Department and her father serving in Officer positions with both Roaring River Volunteer Fire Department and Ronda Volunteer Fire Department. Jenna had a passion to follow her family’s path and was pursuing education in the healthcare industry. Fridge had started working part-time at Ronda Volunteer Fire Department, and Millers Creek Volunteer Fire Department, and had just accepted a job with Forsyth County 911 Communications Center this week. Their life together was starting to take off.”
The Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations are continuing to investigate the incident.