Holmatro Donates Tool To Earleigh Heights In Honor of Chris Higgins

Montgomery County career firefighter Chris Higgins had a special connection to Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company in Severna Park. It’s where he met his future wife and where he started his firefighting career.

He was still a member of Earleigh Heights on January 11 when he responded to a Prince George’s County fire call from his Montgomery County station. While on the scene in Laurel, he suffered a medical emergency and later died.

“He was a very valuable part of Earleigh Heights and was very active from the 1990s to about 2016,” said Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company Chief Dave Crawford. “When he had his two children, he still made time to help us on the fundraising side.”

In Higgins’ honor, hydraulic equipment and systems provider Holmatro donated a roughly $2,600 tool to Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company on February 6. On behalf of the president of Holmatro, Sam Pearce and Mike Toeneboehn presented the tool and expressed their sympathy for the loss of Higgins.

The tool is what firefighters call a spreader or cutter, and allows first responders to enter reinforced buildings.

“It’s kind of a Swiss Army Knife for forcible entry tool,” Crawford said, explaining that the tool helps when buildings are unoccupied. “Every minute a fire builds, it doubles in size. The quicker we can access the building, the better chance we have of saving the property.”