The wreck seriously injured John Patrick Richardson, who works full-time as a firefighter with the city of Social Circle Fire Department. Richardson, who underwent another surgery at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta on Tuesday morning, was en route to a structure fire when the accident occurred shortly before 12:30 p.m., authorities said.

A fellow firefighter, Lester Pittman, who was a passenger in the fire truck, was taken to Peidmont Walton hospital for treatment of his injuries and later was released. Richardson, who lives in Milledgeville and commuted to his full-time job with the city of Social Circle, was driving a 2013 Sutphen Guardian fire truck and en route to a structure fire when the wreck happened on Hawkins Academy Road near Fairplay Road in Social Circle.

The new fire truck will replace a 1998 model that will have been in service for 21 years in 2019.  

According to the City, when a fire truck exceeds 20 years of age, the truck must have additional inspections and testing performed annually to ensure that the truck can perform as intended and remain certified for use.

In 1934, the Hall’s Hill Volunteer Fire Station moved to property on North Culpeper Street that had been donated by a local family. In 1951, the first county-government-paid firefighters were assigned to the station. In 1963, a new firehouse opened on Lee Highway, and the county government is in the process of planning for construction of a new station on the site.  

The legislation, which was patroned by Del. Rip Sullivan (D-48th) and passed the state Senate and House of Delegates unanimously, noted the General Assembly’s “admiration for the fire company’s legacy of contributions to the Arlington community.”