Bel Air Paramedic to be Honored at Fallen Heroes Day

Every spring the state of Maryland pays tribute to fallen public safety officials at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens during the ”Fallen Heroes Day” ceremony.

At the observance in May, six people who have died in the line of duty since last year’s ceremony will be recognized, including one member of the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company:

• Officer First Class Brennan Rabain, Prince George’s County Police Department; March 7, 2015
• Officer Craig Chandler, Baltimore Police Department; Jan. 9, 2015
• Paramedic Erik Steciak, Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company; Jan. 6, 2015
• Corporal Jamel Clagett, Charles County Sheriff’s Office; Dec. 21, 2014
• Lt. James Bethea, Baltimore City Fire Department; Nov. 12, 2014
• Fire Apparatus Driver Operator Robert Fogle III, Baltimore County Fire Department; May 30, 2014

Steciak died Jan. 6 while responding to a motorist whose vehicle had gone into an embankment during a snowstorm in Bel Air. He was 29.

“Erik was consistently one of our top Fire and EMS responders, usually receiving several awards at each company banquet,” the West Friendship Volunteer Fire Company reported.

Fallen Heroes Day is the only statewide ceremony in the nation that brings together all segments of the public safety community to salute police and correctional officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel who risk their lives daily to protect Maryland’s citizens.

This year’s ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 1, at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens, 200 East Padonia Road, in Timonium. The observance is free and open to the public.

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• Bel Air Pays Respects to Fallen Paramedic in Howard County
• Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company, Harford County Mourn Loss of Paramedic
• ‘A Trauma for All of Us’: Howard County Fire Chief on Paramedic’s Death

The Patterson Mill station where Erik Steciak worked as a paramedic displayed a memorial message on Jan. 17, 2015, the day the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company held a visitation in his honor. Photo Credit: Elizabeth Janney.