News

A ‘true American hero’: New Gloucester firefighter who got double lung transplant dies

Safety Officer George Carman’s health had been steadily declining over the past year, according to New Gloucester Fire-Rescue Capt. Scott Doyle. A statement Tuesday said that Carman was diagnosed with cancer last November.

| News Center Maine – Liam Nee, Vivien Leigh |

NEW GLOUCESTER, Maine — A New Gloucester firefighter, who notably received a double lung transplant eight years ago, has died.

Safety Officer George Carman, who was the focus of a huge fundraising campaign, died on his way to hospice, according to a fellow firefighter.

Safety Officer Carman passed away Tuesday, Sept. 10, as family members were transporting him to a hospice facility, Capt. Doyle said.

Carman was born with cystic fibrosis that slowly attacked his lungs and made it harder and harder to breathe. But that didn’t stop him from serving the town of New Gloucester for 25 years as a firefighter and safety officer, and before that, the Yarmouth Fire-Rescue Department in the early 1990s.

Continue reading and view a video from News Center’s archives