Firefighter Carl Blake was killed in a motorcycle accident on Monday.EAST POINT, Ga. -
East Point firefighters are mourning the loss of one of their own. Firefighter Carl Blake was killed in a motorcycle accident on Monday.
According to authorities, Blake was traveling north on Jones Road in northwest Atlanta when he apparently lost control of his Suzuki GSRX motorcycle.
Police say a witness was backing out of her driveway when she noticed Blake's motorcycle. She told police she applied her brakes and saw Blake lose control of his motorcycle.
According to police, Blake hit curb, became airborne and then struck a utility pole. Blake was pronounced dead at the scene. They say he was wearing a helmet.
Police say the woman never struck Blake's motorcycle with her vehicle.
According to the East Point Fire Department, Blake, 47, was a 15-year veteran of the department.
Dozens of firefighters gathered to remember Blake on Tuesday.
Firefighter Chris Butler recalled what Blake told him when they during their last fire on Sunday. After battling one fire, another call came in.
"He said, ‘That's what I do Butler.' And he just smiled and went away," said Butler.
"He was always excited and exuberant about the fire department," said Blake's mother, Imogene Butler. "He would give me information all the time of what it would take to fight certain types of fire."
Blake leaves behind two children, one of whom is training to become an Atlanta firefighter.
The family will hold services on Friday at 11 a.m. at the Christian Fellowship Baptist Church in College Park.
