Firefighters remember their fallen hero

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Firefighters are grieving the loss of one of their own a day after a fatal crash.

Firefighters say Mark Haudenschild II was a loving husband, father of two, and friend to many. He was also a hard worker and a joy to be around.

"He won’t be forgotten, but you know we’ll heal," said Chief Brian Gillett of the Washington Township Fire Department. "But, right now, everyone is pretty broken up over the whole thing, and how could it happen, and why did it happen."

Mark Haudenschild the second was the  Chief Assistant Engineer at the Washington Township Fire Department. He died after being ejected from the tanker truck he was driving while responding to a brush fire. Gillett said he worked for Comcast Sunday through Thursday and had normally volunteered at the station on Fridays for the past five years. His fellow firefighters described him as “Mr. Fix It.”

"His kind of thing was wiring, wiring lights and radios and stuff in trucks," Gillett said.

Annually, about one hundred firefighters die in the line of duty nationwide. In Allen County, there hasn't been a line of duty death since 1972, and Chief Gillett said there hasn’t been a death at Washington Township for the 67 years the department has been around.

However, Washington Township firefighters said the support they are getting from other firefighters across the region is enormous.

"He is not being left alone," said Eric Johnson, the Executive Director of Supporting Heroes, a group that helps families of fallen public safety officials. "There is a fellow firefighter with him 24 hours every day and will remain with him until he is laid to rest."

The Washington Township Fire Department isn’t responding to any calls at this time. Instead, they are focusing on helping Haudenschild’s family in this time of need.

"This is a man who served his community faithfully and risked his life routinely, and ultimately gave his life to the community, and he deserves to be honored for his service," Johnson said.

Fire department officials said funeral arrangements should be confirmed and released by Tuesday afternoon. 

If you would like to make a tribute for the family you can go to supportingheroes.org where there is a page set up in his honor.

There has also been a memorial fund set up at 3Rivers Federal Credit Union for the Haudenschild family. Donations can be made at any 3Rivers branch.