Clayton is mourning the loss of its town manager and volunteer fire chief after a deadly fall at the firehouse Monday night.
Officials identified John Pridemore as the Clayton fire member who was injured and later died after a 25-foot fall from a scissor lift while cleaning inside the firehouse. He fell Monday at about 6:40 p.m. and died Tuesday at Christiana Hospital, according to Clayton Fire Company public information officer Kevin Wilson.
Pridemore was on the scissor lift cleaning in the new addition at the firehouse when someone pressed a button that raised the automatic garage doors. The door going up near the scissor lift knocked over the lift, Wilson said. As Pridemore fell, his head hit the bumper of a firetruck.
Wilson said someone wanted to raise the doors just in the old section of the firehouse but accidentally hit the master button that raises all the doors in both sections.
First report:Clayton Fire Company member hospitalized after falling 25 feet, striking head at firehouse
Pridemore’s immediate family includes his wife, daughter, son and granddaughter.
“Our families vacationed together. John was one of my best friends,” said Wilson, adding that Pridemore was a dedicated fire company member and community servant.
Past fire chief and past company president William “Skip” Carrow knew Pridemore as a fellow firefighter but also as the new town manager, whom Carrow and the rest of the Clayton council members just hired in February.
“Everybody’s in shock. Everybody’s asking where we go from here,” said Carrow, the town’s vice mayor. “He’s always been an extremely active individual in the fire company, someone you could always depend upon.”
Carrow said he knows the town and the fire company will have to choose new leaders, “but right now we’re all just dealing with him passing away.”
In the fire company, Pridemore moved up through the leadership ranks on the administrative side, serving as company vice president in 2008, then president from 2009-2011 and vice president again in 2012. On the fire line side, he was elected chief last year after serving as deputy chief for two years, and before that as captain and lieutenant.
“He was always eager to step up to help the fire company and the community,” Carrow said. “You’re not supposed to have to bury a fire chief. It happened while he was here, setting an example, helping with work detail, cleaning up.”
Clayton Mayor Nick Smith expressed condolences to Pridemore’s family and to the Clayton Fire Company, saying Pridemore was one of the pillars of the community.
“In searching for a replacement for Jeff Hurlock who is retiring, we found the perfect match in a town manager in John,” said Smith. “He picked up the job immediately and was guiding the town in the direction we wanted to go. It’s going to be a great loss.”
Pridemore’s service also extended beyond his community, as he served as both the president of the Kent County Volunteer Firefighters Association in 2013 and as a military police officer in the Delaware National Guard.
Carrow said this is the first time a member has died while in service to the fire company. Since the company was founded in 1891, there’s never been a death in the line of duty, according to the company’s records.
Clayton’s fire district will be covered temporarily by other fire companies in Delaware and Maryland, Wilson said, “giving the Clayton members time to decompress and prepare for the funeral services” which will be announced when the details are complete.
“The members of the Clayton Fire Company would like to thank every company who has reached out to offer their services,” Wilson said.
The family requests any donations be made to the Clayton Fire Company, PO Box 1050, Clayton, DE 19938 in Chief Pridemore’s memory.
Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.
