Over $10,000 has been raised for a Gurnee firefighter who responded Thursday to his own house fire that left his mother and another firefighter injured.
“We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude for the support that our brother Bob Davidson has experienced from many people in and out of the Firefighting community,” said Tony Roberts, Vice President of Gurnee Firefighters Union Local 3598.
Within 24 hours of the fire, $11,000 had been raised in a GoFundMe account on behalf of fellow firefighters and the community.
“As Firefighters, we respond to incidents everyday with the intention to save life and property without ever thinking that we may be called to provide those same services to our own. We would like to thank everyone for their unprecedented support during this trying time for one of our members,” Roberts said.
The Gurnee Fire Department responded around 10:10 a.m. Thursday to the 37100 block of Shirley Drive in Gurnee for a report of a structure fire.
Gurnee firefighter-paramedic Bob Davidson was riding on the first fire engine that arrived at the scene minutes after the 911 call was made.
The second floor of the home was found to be engulfed in flames and smoke. It took firefighters, including Davidson, who owns the home, almost 20 minutes to get the blaze under control.
No one was home at the time of the fire except for a dog and a cat. Davidson’s mother lives next door and helped save the dog, but suffered smoke inhalation.
The cat was pulled from the home and CPR was performed but it died, city officials said. One firefighter was transported to a local hospital where they were evaluated and released.
Firefighters from Newport, Waukegan, Lake Villa, Mundelein, Zion, Libertyville and Grayslake were called to the scene to assist in extinguishing the fire and provide coverage for Gurnee.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Gurnee Fire Department. A damage estimate was not immediately available but the home is uninhabitable.
A GoFundMe donation page setup for Davidson by a fellow firefighter has raised $11,870 as of Saturday afternoon with a goal to reach $20,000.