Rialto Fire Department holds fundraiser for one of its own

Sometimes, life is hard. And when it’s really hard, like in the case of a medical emergency, a car accident or a house up in flames, you can count on the local fire department to show up and take care of business for you.

For the Rialto Fire Department (RFD) right now, they’re also taking care of business for one of their own while opening up an opportunity for all of us to step in and help them out during a difficult time.

Rialto Fire Engineer Scott Schwingel, a 16-year veteran of the RFD, was diagnosed with colon cancer in July of 2015. Schwingel has been on chemo treatments since the beginning and is currently not able to work.

Marcus Lynch, RFD Engineer Paramedic said his wife got him started in getting a fundraising effort going for Schwingel, his co-worker and friend of the past five-and-a-half years. “We need to get him the money for alternative treatment and other expenses,” said Lynch, “He has a family, a wife, three children and a granddaughter and we want to be there to help out in any way we can.”

The fundraising campaign is nicknamed #BuckshotStrong in reference to Captain Steve May’s moniker for Schwingel, who loves all things NASCAR.

Stephanie Schwingel, Scott’s wife, shared, “This whole thing is just overwhelming. We never expected to have people from everywhere to reach out to us, to show us such love and support. It really is amazing.”

The fundraising site is at https://www.buckshotstrong.com/ and you can help this campaign in two ways; there are specially designed RFD tee-shirts to purchase for $20, and you can make a direct donation of funds at the YouCaring site at: https://www.youcaring.com/scottschwingel-992999 .