By EMS1 Staff
NAVARRE, Ohio — Family, friends and colleagues are mourning the death of a firefighter-EMT who died last weekend of surgery complications.
Amy Cupples, 41, died Jan. 7 after having an aortic valve replaced on Dec. 5, 2016, reported the Inde Online.
“She’s my best friend,” Cupples’ husband, Mike, who’s also an assistant fire chief with Erie Valley Fire and Rescue, said. “She’s a great mother to her children, a great daughter, a great sister. She devoted her life to family and the fire department.”
Cupples served the Navarre Fire Department for eight years before joining Erie Valley Fire and Rescue. Erie Valley Fire Chief Rick Annen said Cupples was deeply involved with the fire department, and responded to over 80 percent of calls last year.
“It’s going to take five people to replace her, but no one can,” Chief Annen said. “She was one of the most caring people you could ever meet. She really cared about the fire service and the community. She had two families, her personal family and her fire family.”
Cupples leaves behind seven children, ranging from ages nine to 22.