‘Her life was just starting’: Fire departments mourn death of firefighter killed in crash

MARION, S.C. (WMBF/Gray News) - Firefighters are mourning the loss of one of their own killed in a crash this week in South Carolina.

A former Marion volunteer firefighter 22-year-old Clarissa Martin died after her SUV overturned Wednesday night along Highway 76 at Shepherd Road.

Authorities said she was the only one in the vehicle at the time of the crash.

Martin was also a current member of the Millersburg Fire Company in Millersburg, Pennsylvania.

According to Millersburg Fire, she joined as a firefighter in December 2019.

Heather Stephens, the vice president of the Millersburg Fire Company, said Martin was pursuing her dream of becoming a paid firefighter and would frequently return home to help the team.

“Her life was just starting and now it ended tragically,” Stephens said. “She had so many dreams and she was just fulfilling those dreams.”

Stephens added that if it weren’t for the crash, she believes that Martin would have climbed the ranks and been a fire chief one day.

“She was definitely dedicated enough, and goal-driven to do something like that,” Stephens said.

Marion Fire Rescue shared that Martin was close to so many in the department.

“We send our deepest condolences to the family of Clarissa Martin, the local public safety family she had grown to love, and to her home fire department, the Millersburg Fire Company,” the agency shared.

Both fire stations are providing counseling to the firefighters, especially to the ones who responded to the crash on Wednesday night.

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