GoFundMe page created for Talkeetna firefighter who lost home to fire while responding to call

WASILLA — The community is rallying together to raise funds for Talkeetna firefighter Andrew VanOrnum and his family who recently lost their home in a fire. In an ironic twist of fate, the community-minded first responder who’s known for responding to calls around the clock is now in need of help.

“Andrew is a very, very active responder in the Talkeetna, Willow, and Trapper Creek areas,” Talkeetna Fire Chief Eric Chappel stated in a recent press release. “In addition to helping his community through emergency services he is the person that if someone says their car won’t start, he will come see what he can do.”

Chappel created a GoFundMe page July 25 with a $40,000 goal to help the VanOrnum family rebuild their cabin before winter hits. Donors have contributed a total of $36,199 to the campaign as of July, 28.

The incident occurred last week while VanOrnum was transporting a patient from Talkeetna to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, according to Mat-Su Borough Emergency Services Director Ken Barkley. He said there were no injuries, but the house was burnt to the ground. He said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

VanOrnum, his wife, and their two young children were left with just the clothes on their backs and no insurance to cover the costs to rebuild their lives.

VanOrnum has been serving as a firefighter and EMT with the Talkeetna Fire Department since 2015. According to the press release, the dedicated first responder went right back to public service, going out on calls less than 24 hours after losing his home.

“He’s the guy that responds to all calls, any time of the night selflessly. It doesn’t matter what time, what type of call, he is always there. He’s even missed his own birthday just to take care of his own community. That’s the kinda guy he is. He asks for nothing, but he really gives everything,” Barkley said. “He’s just the one guy that we can count on 100 percent of the time. He does fire, rescue, and ambulance service. The hardest thing for us is to maintain our on-call staffing. So, it’s very important to get people, but it’s even more important to get quality people, and he is top-notch… He’s always the first guy to raise his hand and volunteer his service.”

Barkley marveled at the immediate and vast outpouring of support for the rebuilding campaign, reaching people far beyond the Mat-Su Valley.

“We’re also getting donations from around the world to help out. The firefighter/emergency services community is very strong. We’re getting people from overseas donating and calling and asking what they can do. So, we’re getting a really good response,” Barkley said.

Barkley said the plan is to raise as much money and materials as possible to get the VanOrnum family a roof over their heads before winter. He said that volunteers will lend their time and resources to build the cabin.

“Mostly it’ll be folks from emergency services helping out on their own time, but the community has already stepped up and said they’d help too. There’s a lot of retired folks in Talkeetna, Caswell, and Willow that have a construction background. So, we would lean on their expertise to do this,” Barkley said.

The Talkeetna Fire Department and people across the emergency response community have pitched in to provide room and board for VanOrnum and his family for the time being.

Local fire departments are serving as donation drop-off sites. Those looking to donate items such as kitchenware or winter clothing to the VanOrnum are encouraged to call Chief Chappel ahead of time at 907-841-3342.

To view the GoFundMe campaign page, visit gf.me/v/c/sc4k/firefighter-emt-loose-home-to-fire-when-on-a-call

To follow updates on the recovery efforts, visit the official Talkeetna Fire Department Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Talkeetnafire.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com