Monroe County Emergency Services is deeply saddened to announce the untimely passing of one of its own.
Harold Boone, a firefighter for MCES since 2016, died on Monday, Nov. 2 following complications from COVID-19.
Boone, 49, had been ill for more than a month, initially testing positive for COVID-19 on Sept. 19. Boone was hospitalized and placed on a ventilator at Macon’s Medical Center Navicent Health on Sept. 25, but he eventually contracted double pneumonia and was unable to recover.
Monroe County Emergency Services Chief Matthew Jackson said of Boone’s death: “Our department is truly devastated by the passing of Firefighter Harold Boone. Harold was an exemplary employee who was highly respected throughout this department and the community. One of our volunteers told us last night that Harold was the reason he wanted to be a part of the fire service and he looked at Harold as his mentor. I have no doubt that there are many other persons who are firefighters today because of the example Harold set and the mentoring he gave to new firefighters over his long career in the fire service. Harold loved to make people laugh, and he will be deeply missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mrs. Boone and his family during this difficult time.”
Boone was a fixture at MCES Headquarters Station One for the past four years, serving as a firefighter/emergency medical responder (EMR). MCES Deputy Chief Jason Lott said Boone was “a very good fireman” who assisted with keeping the Engine One truck in service. Lott said Boone’s positive attitude will be greatly missed at Station One.
Lott said of Boone: “He was funny. He was always in a good mood.”
MCES Administrative Assistant Roxanne Dewberry said Boone received a meritorious service award in December 2018 for his heroic actions under hazardous conditions in a fire incident earlier that year.
Dewberry said of Boone: “He was an all-around good guy. He was a chef. He knew how to cook. He always brought a lot of laughs.”
Boone was born on Dec. 14, 1970 to Jimmy and Hattie Boone. He was raised alongside two brothers, Randy Allen and Kenny Allen, in Twiggs County, graduating from Twiggs County High School. He then joined the U.S. Army Reserves for several years before entering the fire service with the Macon-Bibb Fire Department. Boone worked for Macon-Bibb for 25 years before retiring and joining Monroe County Emergency Services on a part-time basis in 2016. After two years of part-time work, Boone became full-time with MCES in 2018.
Margie Bryant, a Culloden volunteer firefighter, has organized a virtual 5K run/walk for Saturday, Nov. 14 to benefit Boone. Despite Boone’s passing, Bryant said the race remains on schedule and will instead be run in Boone’s memory. She said a check with proceeds from the run will be presented in Boone’s memory on Nov. 14.
Bryant said Boone always made sure she was safe at fire scenes. Bryant said of Boone: “His personality was just awesome. He served his purpose on earth. Once you met him, you’d never forget him.”
Boone was married to wife Sharon for 32 years. Sharon Boone attended Twiggs County High School with her future husband. She said Harold was friends with her brother, and she initially rejected his request for her to date him. But she said she eventually relented, and they married shortly after she completed high school.
The Boones, who live in Twiggs County next door to Harold’s mother, had one daughter, Teneshia, who tragically passed away in an auto accident at the age of 19 in 2008. The Boones have since raised their granddaughter Nyjhae, 12. Sharon Boone said Harold and Nyjhae had an especially close bond. “That’s his heart,” Sharon Boone said of her granddaughter.
Sharon Boone said she was unable to see her late husband during the last month of his life due to Navicent’s COVID-19 visitation policy. She said she last saw him on Sept. 25 when she called an ambulance because he was complaining of shortness of breath and severe headaches. Sadly, she only was able to talk to him one time on the phone while he was in the hospital when he told her he had requested to be put on a ventilator, but she said they were able to exchange “I love yous” during that final call.
Sharon Boone said the next month was a roller-coaster of emotions as she would get positive updates from health care professionals on Harold’s status one day and terrible updates the next.
“It’s been so horrible,” Sharon Boone said. “I’ve been waiting each day for the doctor to call. It’s just been hectic.”
In a particularly eerie recollection, Sharon Boone said she remembers Harold calling her a few months earlier as he attended a fellow firefighter’s funeral, saying he wanted the ceremonial crossed fire truck ladders at his own funeral. Sharon Boone, who said she responded by telling Harold “not to talk like that” after he mentioned his funeral, said her husband didn’t often talk about his firefighting job, preferring to keep his home life separate from work. But she said she thinks his enjoyment of firefighting diminished a bit after their daughter’s death and believed he planned to retire for good before too much longer.
Like his friends, Sharon Boone said it’s her husband’s sense of humor she will miss most.
She said, “He was always trying to make us laugh and smile. He loved to talk.”
In addition to his fire service, Boone ran a successful auto body and paint shop in Twiggs County called Boone’s Auto & Boone’s Body Repair. Monroe County firefighter Greg Stephens frequently accompanied Boone on trips to the junkyard where Boone would find spare parts for his repair business. Stephens, one of Boone’s best friends, said working on cars was Boone’s favorite hobby.
Stephens worked alongside Boone on the same fire company in Macon-Bibb for four years and eventually followed him up to MCES. Stephens said Boone was “like a brother, more than a friend.” Stephens said they spoke almost daily either driving to work or while driving home.
Stephens said of Boone: “If he knew you, he was friends with you. One thing he’d say to the guys, if he knew you were married, he’d say, ‘Did you tell her you loved her?’ before you left home. And if they answered ‘yes,’ he’d want them to call their wives and say it where he could he hear it.”
Stephens said in addition to Boone’s consistent kindness toward others, it’s his sense of humor that he’ll miss the most.
“He’d keep you laughing all day,” Stephens said.
Former MCES Fire Chief Donny Mercer, who hired Boone in Monroe County, served as Boone’s battalion chief at Station 7 (Rocky Creek Road) of the Macon-Bibb Fire Department for about a half-dozen years. Mercer said Boone was his “go-to guy,” particularly when it came to body work on department trucks. Mercer said it was Boone who re-painted Macon-Bibb fire trucks from white to red and said he always spent days and nights making sure everything was taken care of at the station.
“He always did his job with a smile,” Mercer said of Boone. “It’s hard to find those guys in the public safety world who are doing it for the citizens and not for personal gain.”
Mercer laughed as he recalled responding to a fire call on Vineville Avenue many years ago where a fire truck hose wasn’t attached properly and it resulted in truck gear, including shovels, spilling out into the roadway. Mercer said even though Boone was as disgusted as he was that one of their fellow firefighters hadn’t attached the hose to the truck securely, he made Boone clean up the mess because he was the driver.
Mercer said on another memorably hilarious occasion Boone held a mock court trial at Station 7 during the wee hours of the morning after a fellow firefighter was complaining of an issue with his breathing apparatus. Mercer said Boone appointed himself the prosecutor and won the case. Mercer said the offender was eventually “sentenced” to wearing his breathing apparatus 10 times a day on his next 30 shifts.
Mercer said of Boone: “He would listen. No one ever had a problem talking with him. He was one of my good friends. You knew he was gonna shoot you straight.”
MCES Battalion Chief Jack Harper, who also worked alongside Boone at Macon-Bibb Station 7, was recently reunited with Boone when Harper was promoted to Monroe County battalion chief and Boone was placed under his service.
Harper described Boone as “a great engine operator” and said firefighters never had to worry about having water when they got to fire scenes because Boone was always on top of it as a driver. Harper said Boone was always looking out for younger firefighters’ needs as well.
Harper said, “He always tried to help others to come up and never left people behind in the ways of the fire service.”
Harper said he was looking forward to spending many more years working with his longtime friend, who affectionately called him “Jackie.”
“It’s tragic,” Harper said of Boone’s death. “He’s definitely gonna be missed. He had a lot of friends. He never met a stranger.”
