GoFundMe Set Up To Help Ocean Gate Firefighter Battling Leukemia

OCEAN GATE, NJ — When a siren sounds in the Ocean Gate firehouse, Ron Smith is usually one of the first firefighters at the station to gear up and rush to the call alongside his crew.

Now Smith’s fellow firefighters and the Ocean Gate community are rushing to support him after he was recently diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL).

The Ocean Gate Fire Department has organized a GoFundMe to raise funds for Smith and his family, which includes his wife and four children, while he undergoes treatment at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

“Ron’s the sole provider for his household and at this time he’s out of work,” said Alex Martinez, a lieutenant at the Ocean Gate Fire Department. “We’re going to look into more fundraisers. This is something to get it going and get some money directly in his hands so they can pay their bills.”

According to Martinez, Smith joined the fire department last year and completed classes in March to become a certified firefighter. Smith has followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, becoming the third generation of firefighters in his family.

His father was a volunteer firefighter in Maine, and his grandfather is a former chief of the East Dover Fire Company and fire commissioner in Toms River.

Since he joined, Smith has been one of the “hardest charging guys in the firehouse,” Martinez said. Smith has made almost every call at the fire department since he became a certified firefighter.

He also led the initiative to restore Ocean Gate’s original 1927 Seagrave fire engine, which had been out of commission for the past couple years.

“Ron jumped right in and started getting stuff cued up to get those repairs, dealing with the transmission company up in Monmouth County and getting parts made,” Martinez said. “Not having Ron around is a loss for us. We understand, and just want him to get better and take as much time as he needs, but at the end of the day we wish he was here."

Martinez speaks with Smith on the phone every few days to check on how he is doing. While Smith is in the hospital, he can only see one visitor each day.

“That’s the toughest part for him because Ron’s a big family man. He loves to be around his wife and his kids, and it’s tough not being able to see them,” he said.

According to the latest update on the GoFundMe page, Smith expects to leave the hospital at the end of the month and then he will begin outpatient care.

"I still can’t say enough how thankful I am from all the donations and help my family and I have been receiving," Smith wrote on the GoFundMe page.

Martinez said the fire department has also opened up a bank account for Smith's family for anyone who prefers to send a check to the Ocean Gate Fire Department.

The fire department is helping Smith sign up for state aid that will assist his family, but Martinez said the GoFundMe will help them stay on their feet in the meantime.

"The more people we can get this to and the more help Ron can get, we’d be super appreciative of it,” Martinez said.

Click here to donate to the GoFundMe.

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