An officer with the Mount Gilead (NC) died from an unspecified medical emergency while responding to a house fire late Saturday Night.

Officer Craig Cloninger, 38, became unconscious during the fire response, according to a press release issued Sunday morning.

The release states that emergency medical services personnel on the scene began life-saving measures and took Cloninger to the hospital, but he did not survive.

Cloninger was married with two daughters.

“The death of an officer is a tragic event; it touches the hearts and emotions of everyone, not only in the department, but the community as a whole,” Chief Pat Preslar said in a statement. “When it involves someone as young as Craig, who has children, it is even more difficult.”