Friends, family and fellow firefighters and EMTs remembered Capt. Erik Steciak as "vibrant," "dependable," "compassionate" and "generous;" an "intensely dedicated" paramedic and "well-loved" friend at his funeral Sunday afternoon.
Capt. Steciak, 29, a paid paramedic with the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company and a longtime volunteer for the West Friendship Volunteer Fire Department, was killed while responding to a call Jan. 6 when he was struck by a utility vehicle that slid on icy pavement.
Despite freezing rains earlier in the day that led to a 49-car pile-up on Route 40 near the Baltimore-Howard County line and a fatal car accident in Harford County, an estimated 850 people, including honor guards from Boston, New York and Quebec, came to pay their respects at the service, which was held at Marriotts Ridge High School in Marriottsville.
A giant American flag, hoisted between two Howard County fire trucks, hung over the entrance to the school's parking lot, and engines draped in black cloths sat parked near the fire truck that would carry Steciak's casket to be buried.
Mourners, many dressed in navy blue fire department uniforms, filled the auditorium and spilled into an overflow room at the high school.
Looking out on the crowd, Capt. Steciak's twin brother, Daniel Steciak, told them he saw "every year of Erik's life" in their faces: family and neighbors from childhood; students and teammates; colleagues from the fire station.
"It is clear that he touched countless lives for the better," Steciak said of his brother, who, he added, "could think of no greater calling nor nobler cause" than serving as a paramedic and firefighter.
Howard County Fire Chief John Butler, said Capt. Steciak was "known for his passion, his compassion, his patience, his willingness to help and his leadership.
"Erik's loss is a trauma for all of us," he said.
West Friendship Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mickey Day said Capt. Steciak was the link between the West Friendship and Bel Air stations; a unifying force who brought paramedics and firefighters together across county lines.
"He cared about people and bringing people together," Day said of Capt. Steciak, who was well-known for his love of mentoring new recruits. "We'll carry that unification of Erik with us wherever we go," he said.
Rick Davis, the chief at the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company, couldn't attend the funeral due to the morning's accidents, according to a Howard County fire department spokesperson, but another representative from the Bel Air station shared his prepared remarks, in which he remembered Capt. Steciak's many sleepless nights, skipped meals and hours of report-writing because of his commitment to "helping others."
West Friendship Volunteer Fire Department Chaplain Jeff Sturgess said Capt. Steciak's legacy would have a "snowball effect.
"He influenced and saved many, many lives," Sturgess said. "Erik put passion into his work and it showed."
Sturgess said the way to honor Capt. Steciak and other rescue workers is "by not letting them die in vain. The legacy must continue."
Daniel Steciak said he and his brother never said "goodbye" when they parted ways – only "see you later." Those were his last words to Capt. Steciak.
"I know I will see him later," Daniel Steciak said, "in my thoughts, in my dreams and everytime I hear the wail of sirens in the distance."