Rochester, NY, USA
Firefighter
CIV – 911 Dispatcher Webster, NY
12/24/2012, Webster, NY, USA
A firefighter, Tomasz Kaczowka was a smart, dedicated and courageous leader. He passed away when he was 19 years old.
Tomasz Kaczowka was born on May 16, 1993 in Rochester, New York. Kaczowka graduated from Webster Thomas High School in 2011. Kaczowka had been training for nearly three years in the fire department’s explorer program for adolescents interested in the firefighting profession. When Kaczowka turned 18, in May 2011, he immediately took the Monroe County Civil Service exam test. He was hired that November to be a fire dispatcher at the 911 dispatch center. Kaczowka was the youngest employee at the dispatch center and was known as everyone’s little brother.
On December 24, 2012, Kaczowka was shot in the aftermath of a house fire on Lake Road. He passed away on line next to his good friend, Lt. Mike Chiapperini. Kaczowka died doing and fighting for what he loved. Kaczowka voluntarily worked on Christmas Eve there so other members of the department could spend the day with their families.