Tunnel to Towers Foundation pays off mortgage of fallen Binghamton firefighter JR Gaudet
Gaudet, 40, was killed in the line of duty on Feb. 12 after responding to a major fire on Main Street in Binghamton.
The fire, which was ultimately ruled arson, led to the March arrest of 36-year-old Patrick K. Shea after the Binghamton Police Detective Bureau determined there was "human involvement" in the blaze.
While crews battled the blaze on the night of Feb. 12, a wall collapsed, trapping Gaudet beneath the debris. He was extricated from the rubble but later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Gaudet was survived by his wife, Felly Gaudet, and their three young children.
On July 2, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which was created in the wake of 9/11, announced that the organization has paid off Gaudet's family home through its Fallen First Responders Home Program.
The program is designed to pay off the mortgages "for the families of law enforcement officers and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty or pass away from 9/11-related illnesses and leave behind young children."
"The goal is to provide stability following the sudden and tragic loss of a loved one," the organization stated in a release. "The foundation ensures the family of these fallen heroes can stay in their home, school, and community, without the financial burden of a mortgage."
More: Binghamton firefighter died when wall collapsed at fire scene. What to know about case
Gaudet's mortgage is one of 25 nationwide the foundation is paying off this July 4.
"Firefighter John Gaudet lost his life battling a fire, confronting the danger and the risk head-on, with the same determination he had every day and working every call for help," said Frank Siller, Chairman and CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. "Tunnel to Towers Foundation is honored to ensure the family can stay in their home in the community he worked tirelessly to protect."
Gaudet was a Binghamton native who attended Binghamton High School, Binghamton University, and SUNY Cortland, where he played lacrosse and later returned as a coach.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Tunnel to Towers Foundation pays off mortgage of John 'JR' Gaudet
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