Mark or “Bum,” as his fellow firefighters knew him, passed away on March 4, 2022, at the age of 66 after a courageous battle with lung cancer.

Mark had an exemplary career as a firefighter that lasted over 40 years. He started as a volunteer firefighter in the City of Lawrence Fire Department with his brother Dave and became a career firefighter in 1979 with the Indianapolis Fire Department. Mark was promoted to lieutenant in 1987, then captain in 2005. Mark finished his career as the battalion chief of training, retiring in 2017.

Mark received numerous awards during his career, including the American Red Cross Heroism Award and Operations Firefighter of the Year. Mark also received the Medal of Bravery for rescuing a small child from an apartment fire in 1993. One of his most cherished accolades was the Peer Leadership Award, which is awarded for being an outstanding role model and exemplifying dependability, loyalty, attitude, responsibility, and initiative. While these honors and awards were very special to him, they did not compare to how proud he was of the firefighters his sons became. He had the opportunity to fight fires with both Mark and Greg, and he was so proud to see them in action and honored to work alongside them.

Teaching others how to do something the “right way” was very important to him. He always spoke about the importance of “having options” and tried to incorporate that mindset into his trainings. Mark spent ten years as an FDIC Hands-on Training (H.O.T.) instructor and performed training for many townships throughout his career. Mark even created a custom forcible entry prop to assist with training. Later in his career, Mark continued his advocacy for safe firefighting practices by explaining to new recruits the importance of using SCBAs and decontaminating after fires.

Mark was a founding member of Indiana Task Force 1 (IN-TF1) in 1995 and was a member until 2017. As the Task Force Leader, Mark was activated by FEMA and deployed to New York City during the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center. Upon arrival, Mark was in charge of the IN-TF1 Search & Rescue Team, specifically assigned to the night operations during the ten-day deployment. He was also deployed to help with numerous natural disasters during his time on IN-TF1.

Whenever he had a chance to get away, Mark enjoyed spending time on the ocean and beach with his wife, Nancy.

Mark never once complained about having cancer, and if you asked him if he would have done anything different in his career, he would say, “Not a thing. I love what I do.”