Obituaries

Funeral Arrangements Announced for Fallen Bel Air Paramedic

Memorial for Erik Steciak will span two counties, three days.

Officials from Harford and Howard counties have announced the funeral arrangements for Erik Steciak, the 29-year-old paramedic who was killed Tuesday in the line of duty in Bel Air.

Steciak was a member of Maryland fire companies for more than a decade.

In Harford County, he had been a paid paramedic with the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company since December 2011, and he joined the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company as a medic in September.

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Since 2005, Steciak has been a member of the West Friendship Volunteer Fire Department, where he was recently promoted to captain and put in charge of training, according to the department. His fire career began in Howard County at the Ellicott City Volunteer Fire Department in 2003.

Steciak mentored new members at West Friendship, according to the department, which said: ”Erik was consistently one of our top Fire and EMS responders, usually receiving several awards at each company banquet. Needless to say, this is an unimaginable loss for everyone who knew and loved Erik.”

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When he died Tuesday, Jan. 6, Steciak was with a crew from the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company responding to a motorist whose vehicle had gone into an embankment during a snowstorm.

There will be two viewings:

The funeral service for Steciak will be at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 18, at Marriotts Ridge High School, 12100 Woodford Drive, Marriottsville.

Following the funeral service, there will be a wake at the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services Training Academy, 2200 Scott Wheeler Drive, in Marriottsville.

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