The Coweta County Fire Department and many in Coweta County and surrounding communities lost a friend June 14 when veteran firefighter Christopher Landreau passed away at Emory Hospital after suffering a stroke. Landreau had been diagnosed in February with stage 4 lymphoma.
Chris Landreau joined the Coweta County Fire Department in July 2004 and earlier this year had been assigned to Rescue 1 on A-Shift.
It was on Feb. 4 that Landreau went to the emergency room with what he thought was a blood pressure issue. But what doctors found was a mass in his chest. Subsequent tests revealed that the mass was cancerous, diagnosed as stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Landreau after the diagnosis began chemotherapy at Emory Hospital.
And from the look of things the Coweta firefighter was beating the cancer.
Coweta County Assistant Fire Chief Mitch Coggins said Landreau spent Monday with family and friends at a lake in north Georgia. Sometime during the day he began having a headache and paramedics were called, Coggins explained, adding that Landreau was subsequently air lifted to Emory Hospital and passed away the following day as the result of a stroke.
“Chris had finished six of the eight treatments and we were talking about him coming back to work in August. And he was coming by the station several times a week to visit,” Coggins said, the emotion in his voice unmistakable as he spoke of Landreau. “So this was an extreme shock to all of us. We thought he had it beat.”
Like other professions where danger is present, the world of firefighting tends to create and accentuate strong bonds between coworkers. That reality was built in to Coggins’ comments about Landreau, the “super-nice guy” who had two families he loved.
The funeral was scheduled for Friday at the First Baptist Church of Newnan.
Landreau is survived by his wife Amanda and their two little daughters.
Those interested in making a donation to the family can do so by contacting the Coweta County Fire Department at 770-254-3900 or at 483 Turkey Creek Road, Newnan, Ga. 30263.
