Bradenton Fire Department Mourns Loss of One of its Own

BRADENTON — The City of Bradenton Fire Department stands with the entire City of Bradenton family in tremendous grief at the loss of one of our own, Firefighter Donald "Donnie" Wendt, on November 23, 2014. There are no words sufficient to express the profound sadness that the BFD family feels, though our anguish certainly cannot compare to what Donnie's family is experiencing.

Donnie had great passion for the fire service, which began while in the military. After his service, he was a volunteer firefighter with Cedar Hammock-Southern Manatee while working at Ten-8 Fire Equipment. He joined the BFD in December 2003 and, less than a year later, he was sent to Iraq for 13 months with the United States Army Reserve.

Donnie returned to the department and was promoted through the ranks to Firefighter/Engineer. During his tenure, he volunteered with the Bradenton Fire Fighters Association (BFFA) at the annual Community Haven holiday event, gave of his time to help fellow department members, was awarded the BFFA Above and Beyond Award (2005) and the BFD Distinguished Service Medal (2008). Also in 2008, Donnie was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the fourth highest individual military award, for his heroic efforts during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

At this time, the department has no further information to share and will not be making any comments. We do ask that you respect all those impacted by this tragic situation, and thank all those who have expressed their concern during this difficult time.

Charles Edwards
Fire Chief