Assistant Fire Chief in Paris dies in car crash
HENRY CO., Tenn. — A well-known firefighter in Henry County died Thursday night in a one vehicle car crash. Troopers tell WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News Assistant Fire Chief, Jeff Hamlin, ran off the road and hit a tree on Macedonia Road around 9:30 p.m. “It’s unbelievable,” fellow firefighter Captain Barry Farmer said. THP says his wife and two kids were in a separate car a few miles ahead of him. Hamlin’s co-workers say he was a loved firefighter by the entire community. “You can ask anyone in Paris when you say the name Jeff Hamlin you immediately think of the Paris fire department,” Farmer said. Hamlin served the department for 25 years. “He was the leader and the back bone of this department,” another co-worker, Lt. Richie Bomar said. Hamlin’s fellow firemen set out a memorial in front of the station Friday with his gear, uniform and badge. “He was the very first to leave and the last one out at every fire,” Farmer said. “He never gave up and would fight to the very end and give his life.” Funeral arrangements have not been set. THP says the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
