Standing STRONG for Fire Chief Chris Hecht

I, Chief Dan Gaumont, am the initiator of this fundraising effort. I am a 55-year fire service veteran as well as a USAF retiree. Along with my fire service career, I have also completed over 20 years as a military firefighter and 34 years in the public and federal fire service.

I have been close friends with Chief Chris Hecht and his family for about 4 years. Shannon and I consider them family.

Chief Hecht has been an extremely active member of the Sister Bay, WI, and Northern Door County community for over 30 years. He began serving Northern Door County in an EMS capacity as an EMT since the late 1980s (of which he recently retired from as a certified/licensed Paramedic).

Chris joined the Sister Bay/Liberty Grove fire department as a firefighter in 1992 and became the Fire Chief there in 2001. He has served his Country in recent years as a Fire Apparatus Subject Matter Expert for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, as a consultant for Booz/Allen/Hamilton Corporation.

His duties took him to the FDIC (Fire Department Instructor's Conference) in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was there, the morning of April 11th, that Chris suffered a life-threatening medical event. He was rushed by ambulance to the University of Indiana Methodist Health Hospital in Indianapolis. It was determined through testing that Chris had a ruptured brain aneurysm. The medical team immediately took him to surgery.

Since the surgery, Chris has been heavily sedated and on a ventilator. Liz (his beloved wife) and children (Helen and Matt) have been at his side since.

On April 16th, Chris was taken to surgery yet again so the medical team could improve blood flow in the brain. He is still in critical condition, and his prognosis is guarded.

Chris has been a very giving person and goes out of his way to help many without hesitation. Now it is OUR turn to help our dear friend and colleague out in his time of need.

His family is now experiencing a crisis of their own with unexpected travel expenses (because he is out of state in a strange hospital). Upon Chris's return to his hometown in Wisconsin, he and Liz will be faced with various unplanned expenses (lack of Liz's income from work, so she can help Chris, home nurses, potential modifications to their home, etc.)

I am hoping that each one of you will help to further our effort and make a donation to help them out. Any amount is kindly accepted and very much appreciated.

PLEASE SHARE and keep Chris and his family in your prayers!

Chief Dan Gaumont

ph: [phone redacted]

email: [email redacted]