By Rusty Marks
Charleston Gazette
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Kanawha County officials are doing what they can to make sure the family of fallen volunteer firefighter Joey King is provided for.
King, 61, died early Sunday when he apparently fell off a bridge near Alum Creek while searching for the cause of a fire. King was a firefighter with the Davis Creek Ruthdale Volunteer Fire Department, and had stopped on the bridge with other firefighters to try to locate a pile of burning railroad ties.
Kanawha County Manager Jennifer Sayre said county officials contacted the office of Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin on Sunday to inform state officials the county had a fallen firefighter. The Legislature passed a law in 2007 creating a $50,000 death benefit for the families of firefighters and paramedics killed in the line of duty.
County officials have also contacted the federal Department of Justice about the federal Public Safety Officers’ Benefit Program, which also provides death benefits for the families of fallen firefighters and other public safety officials.
King grew up on the West Side of Charleston but lived in Davis Creek for about 30 years. He had been on the Davis Creek Volunteer Fire Department for about seven years, after retiring from the city of Charleston.
Kanawha County Chief Deputy Johnny Rutherford said sheriff’s deputies would wear mourning stripes over their badges until after Kings’ funeral, which is scheduled for Friday.
“To us, he’s a fallen brother,” Rutherford said. “Joey’s a good guy. I’ve known him forever.”
King helped out in emergencies long before becoming a firefighter.
He worked for Copley Garage in Charleston for about 20 years, where as a tow truck driver he was frequently called to accident scenes to rescue trapped motorists.
“In those days, there weren’t rescue vehicles,” said Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper, who served as public safety director and police chief for the city of Charleston in the 1980s.
“The wrecker guys were the rescue crews,” Carper said. “They’d be the ones who would show up and pry you out of a car.
“Joey was the guy you really wanted to show up,” Carper said.
Linda Copley said King worked for Copley’s from the 1970s until going to the city of Charleston in the early 1990s. “He pretty much took care of everything,” she said. “He was Mr. Copley’s right hand man, you could say.”
Even after King went to work for the city, Copley said they would call him in to help from time to time.
He is survived by his companion, Sonja Kay Carson, his children, Anthony Carson, LeAnne Bostic and Edna King-Quimby, and three sisters.
Service will be 11 a.m. Friday at the South Charleston Community Center with the Rev. Hank Sigmon officiating. Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Cunningham-Parker-Johnson Funeral Home in Charleston.
Copyright 2011 Charleston Newspapers