Donations Pour In To Help Worcester Lt. Jason Menard's Family

WORCESTER, MA — A fundraiser for the family of Worcester Fire Lt. Jason Menard started with a modest goal of $15,000. But by Thursday morning, the fundraiser had taken in nearly $130,000 in donations for Menard's family.

The fundraiser for Menard, 39, was set up through the Greg Hill Foundation, the nonprofit of the WEEI host, formerly of WAAF. The foundation was established in 2010 to "respond to the immediate needs of families that had been touched by tragedy," according to the nonprofit.

A second fundraiser set up by the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts is also collecting donations. You can give at the PFFM website or at the Worcester Fire Department Credit Union, 34 Glennie St., Worcester.

A New York City nonprofit, the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, also raising money to pay off Menard's mortgage.

Menard died early Wednesday morning while fighting a fire in the Quinsigamond Village neighborhood along Stockholm Street. Menard and several other Ladder 55 firefighters rushed into the burning triple-decker in search of two people trapped on the third floor.

When the fire grew too intense, Menard helped two other firefighters escape. He was rescued from the third floor of the home, but died later at UMass Medical Center. Three other firefighters were hurt, including one who was still in the hospital's intensive-care unit on Thursday.

Menard is the ninth Worcester firefighter to die in the line of duty since the 1999 Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. The 20-year anniversary of that fire is coming up on Dec. 3.

Menard joined the Worcester Fire Department in 2010 and was a graduate of Worcester's Doherty Memorial High School.