PERRYSBURG, Ohio — The mortgage for the Perrysburg home of Toledo firefighter Jamie Dickman, who died battling a fire in 2014, has been paid off, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation announced on Wednesday.
The mortgage payoff is a part of the foundation's 2023 Season of Hope initiative and Fallen First Responder Home Program, aiming to deliver 40 mortgage-free homes nationwide between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.
“Every day, first responders run towards the danger when everyone else is running for safety," said Frank Siller, the CEO and chairman of the T2T Foundation. "Tunnel to Towers pays tribute to his unwavering service and sacrifice by ensuring his family can celebrate not only this holiday but countless others for years to come without the financial burden of a mortgage.”
Dickman, along with fellow Toledo firefighter Steve Machcinski, died in 2014 while battling an intentionally-set apartment fire on Magnolia Street in north Toledo.
"Inspired by an older cousin who served as a firefighter, Dickman pursued his firefighting career immediately after high school," the T2T Foundation said in a press release. "He dedicated ten years to the Perkins Township Fire Department, before joining the Toledo Fire Department. He left behind his wife, also named Jamie, and their children, Paige and Grant."
"Tunnel to Towers' support will empower Jamie to continue her higher education, allowing her to return to school to pursue a master's degree in counseling."
Ray Abou-Arab, the owner of the apartment building Dickman and Machcinski died in, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated arson. He is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence at Allen Correctional Institution in Lima.
T2T also paid off the mortgages for the families of Brandon Stalker, a Toledo police officer who died in the line of duty in 2021, and Anthony Dia, who died in the line of duty in 2020.