Tunnel to Towers Foundation Surprises Pennsylvania Gold Star Family with Mortgage Payoff

Air Force Master Sergeant and Allentown Fire Marshall Jeffrey Tomczak passed away in July

NEW YORK, NEW YORK [October 29, 2024] — Live on Fox & Friends, Tunnel to Towers Chairman & CEO Frank Siller surprised the wife of fallen Allentown Fire Marshall and Air Force Master Sergeant Jeffrey Tomczak with the news her mortgage had been paid in full. 

At age 16, Tomczak joined the Upper Gwynedd Township Fire Company as a junior firefighter in 1996. He would spend over two decades with the Upper Gwynedd Fire Department before being hired by the Allentown Fire Department in 2010. Tomczak was the city’s Fire Marshal and a member of its Technical Rescue and HAZMAT teams. 

Tomczak was a military veteran. He enlisted in the Army after graduating from high school, 

and attended the Department of Defense Fire Academy in Texas. He transitioned to the Army Reserves in 2000, and his unit was one of the first military firefighting units to support operations in Iraq, deploying to Baghdad in 2003. He became a career firefighter with the DOD in 2005. 

He served his country on three overseas tours as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He earned the title of Master Sergeant with the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard, where he served as Assistant Fire Chief.

“At his core, he always had a passion for helping others, he spent most of his time training himself and those he worked alongside, he was a mentor and advocate to so many in the fire service and the military,” said his wife Brittany Tomczack. 

Tomczak was diagnosed with service-related cancer in 2023. He passed away at his home after a 15-month battle with the disease on July 26, 2024. The 44-year-old left behind his wife Brittany and two sons, Matthew and Connor. 

Now, Tunnel to Towers is honored to support the family the American hero left behind by making sure his family can remain in the home they shared forever. 

“Receiving support from Tunnel To Towers will ensure that we can carry on our dream of continuing to raise our boys here,” said Brittany. 

The Tunnel to Towers Gold Star Family Home Program honors the legacy of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country by paying off the mortgage or providing the surviving spouses and young children with mortgage-free homes.

Join Tunnel to Towers on its mission to provide mortgage-free homes for Gold Star families by going to T2T.org and donating $11 a month.