COMMUNITY GEMS: Dayton man raises money for fire departments, fights stigma

Jul. 30—Nick Magoteaux is acutely aware of all the problems — physical, mental, and logistic — that firefighters face. He wants to help solve them.

Magoteaux got his start in charity work in 2014, when fellow Phillipsburg firefighter Art Springer was hospitalized with the H1N1 virus. When Springer passed away from complications of the virus, Magoteaux and others from the Phillipsburg Fire Department continued raising money for Springer's then 13-year-old daughter, Mollie, eventually raising $20,000.

One fundraising event for the Springers, a fish fry, helped Magoteaux realize that he was drawn to charity work.

"I had just started dating him at the time," said Magoteaux's wife, Amanda. "He's like 'hey, do you want to come to this fish fry?' I'm like 'sure, why not.' And I could not believe the amount of people that were there."

Amanda, who nominated Magoteaux as a Dayton Daily News Community Gem, recalled the line at the fish fry stretching out into the parking lot, with people who had already eaten coming back inside to further support the Springer family, or waiting for hours just to get in.

"It's always been kind of mind blowing to me that we were able to do it," Magoteaux said. "That's what made me think it would be easy to start a charity."

Magoteaux would go on to found Brothers Helping Brothers, an charity organization that helps supply rural and underfunded fire departments with equipment and supplies. He describes Brothers Helping Brothers as a "passion project," but it wasn't just Magoteaux's passion.

Springer "was passionate about making sure we had the right tools for the job and everything like that" said Magoteaux, "so I started the organization to help small and rural fire departments, like Phillipsburg, with equipment."

In addition to supplying rural fire departments with equipment, Brothers Helping Brothers hosts a yearly health and wellness conference, focusing on issues firefighters don't normally talk about, such as mental health and PTSD, in an attempt to show the field that "it's okay to not be okay." They focus on firefighter cancer, mental illness treatments, and bring in speakers that differ from other, tactics-focused firefighter conferences.

"The stigma of mental health has been, I would say, especially rampant in the fire service because it's a "macho profession" said Magoteaux. "we've done a very good job of creating a safe space during the conference, where you can share and be vulnerable and knowing that you won't be judged or harassed"

Together, Magoteaux and Amanda have a 14-month-old, Hunter, and are expecting another child in November.

While he manages Brothers Helping Brothers, Magoteaux is also a Midwest Representative for Gear Wash, a firefighter equipment repair service. He retired from firefighting in 2017 after an on-duty injury left him with a concussion. Amanda and Nick enjoy travel, particularly cruises, and try to celebrate their anniversary every year by going on a cruise.

"The first time I went on a cruise was actually [Nick] taking me on a cruise with his family," said Amanda. "And that's where he proposed."

As Magoteaux manages Brothers Helping Brothers, and Amanda helps with administration and conference planning, they both remember where they started. Of everything he's done, Nick is still proudest of raising money for Mollie.

"We always thought just 'what would Art do?' And if Art would do it, we did it." said Nick.