Drew Hurst, owner of Cupcake Heaven in Fairfax Shopping Center, has been a Cranston Heights firefighter for 40 years and his sons Nick and Dan are also firefighters. So, when two Wilmington firefighters died in a house blaze Saturday morning, Hurst put a sign outside his business to honor them and a collection jar inside his business to help their families.
Lt. Christopher Leach, 41, an Eagle Scout and a 1994 Salesianum grad, and Senior Firefighter Jerry Fickes, 51, who had volunteered with Aetna Hose, Hook and Ladder before joining the Wilmington department, were killed when the home’s floor collapsed.
“It’s beyond tragic. It’s just horrid what these guys went through,” Hurst said. “It was real close to home.”
Firefighters Ardythe Hope and Brad Speakman were taken to Crozer-Chester Medical Center. Hope was in critical condition this morning and Speakman was in stable condition.
Two other firefighters, John Cawthray and Terrance Tate, were treated and discharged at Christiana Hospital.
