Firefighter — a father of 5 — dies trying to save colleague, Georgia officials say
A “dedicated” firefighter died while trying to save one of his colleagues in Georgia, officials said.
Preston Fant, a dad to five children, is being remembered as a “true hero” who served an Atlanta-area fire department for decades, according to a GoFundMe page.
“His 21 years of service, courage, and commitment to protecting our community will never be forgotten,” DeKalb County Fire Rescue wrote Sept. 9 in a Facebook post. “Above all, he was a devoted husband and father, whose legacy extends far beyond the uniform he wore with pride.”
The 53-year-old veteran firefighter died after responding to a warehouse fire Sept. 8 in Lithonia, a roughly 20-mile drive east from Atlanta. Fant went into the building to rescue a fellow firefighter when he was “overcome by fire conditions” and became trapped, DeKalb County Fire Chief Darnell Fullum told WXIA and said in video from a news conference that WAGA streamed on Facebook.
Fant was pulled from the building and taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries. He is the “first DeKalb County firefighter to die in the line of duty while battling a fire,” according to the county.
“Fant was a highly respected and elite firefighter who brought specialized training in swift water rescue, high-rise operations, and trench rescues,” county officials wrote in a news release.
As of Sept. 9, the deadly blaze was being investigated. DeKalb County didn’t immediately share additional details about the rescued firefighter or Fant’s cause of death with McClatchy News on Sept. 10.
“We lost an elite firefighter and brother — highly respected, elite in everything that he did,” Fullum told WAGA. “He ran toward danger, and his bravery, service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
This story was originally published September 10, 2025 at 12:16 PM with the headline "Firefighter — a father of 5 — dies trying to save colleague, Georgia officials say."
