Help is on the way to families of the firefighters killed and injured in last week’s house explosion in Sterling, Virginia.
The Loudoun First Responders Foundation, an all-volunteer nonprofit, is providing financial assistance to the families in coordination with the Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System.
Trevor Brown, 45, was killed in the Friday night explosion. Brown had been with the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company since 2016.
Emergency medical services personnel from Loudoun and Fairfax counties identified 13 injured patients in addition to Brown, including 11 first responders and two civilians. As of Monday afternoon, three firefighters remained hospitalized and in stable condition.
“One of the things that we’ve been able to do was immediately provide financial support to the Brown family to cover the costs of the funeral arrangements and … the other 11 first responders that were affected during this devastating incident, as they need financial support,” Loudoun First Responders Foundation president and CEO Tina Johnson said. “We can help them with utilities, rent, those immediate medical needs they might have.”
Virginia State Sen. Suhas Subramanyam requested that the General Assembly adjourn Monday in Brown’s honor.
I am devastated by the tragic loss of Firefighter Brown. My thoughts are with Trevor Brown’s family during this time. As someone who has volunteered in Loudoun as a firefighter and EMT, I know this is the risk taken by first responders every shift. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/uzrmKe2LPp
— Suhas Subramanyam (@SuhasforVA) February 19, 2024
“Firefighter Brown was a loving father of three kids aged 6, 9 and 11, and he enjoyed being outdoors and barbecuing and traveling, and I’ve heard from so many people in our community who were his neighbors, friends who are deeply, deeply hurt by what happened,” Subramanyam said. “As someone who volunteered in Loudoun County as a firefighter EMT myself, this is a painful time for the fire and rescue family in Loudoun and a loss of one of us is a loss for all of us.”
Bomb-like devastation, surrounded by police tape, remained Monday at the site of the explosion, in the residential neighborhood on Silver Ridge Drive. The night of the explosion, an assistant chief with the county fire department described the scene as “total devastation.”
The Loudoun First Responders Foundation is in its 15th year of providing financial aid to first responders in Loudoun County.
“We support uniformed, civilian and volunteer first responders from all the sectors — police, rescue and fire,” Johnson said. “We can write a check within an hour once we receive their application and when its been approved by their direct supervisor.”
Anyone who wants to help affected families can donate on the foundation’s website.
WTOP’s Neal Augenstein contributed to this report.
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