Firehouse Subs Donates $15k in Honor of Jeffrey Bowen, AFD

ASHEVILLE – Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation is awarding much needed equipment to the Asheville Fire Department in memory of a fallen captain.

Capt. Jeff Bowen died on July 28, 2011 while fighting a four-alarm fire at an Asheville medical building.

In Bowen’s memory, the restaurant’s foundation will donate a 36-foot trailer for fire department’s Technical Rescue Team worth more than $15,000.

“The loss of Captain Jeffrey Bowen was felt deeply throughout the Asheville area and beyond,” said Robin Peters, executive director of Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation. “The Firehouse Subs family considers it a great honor to dedicate equipment to honor his memory and the community he bravely served. Captain Bowen’s selfless act to save others will never be forgotten.”

Bowen, 37, died after calling for help while fighting a fire on the fifth floor of 445 Biltmore Avenue. Officials said Bowen went into cardiac arrest after succumbing to intense smoke and heat.

Several agencies are offering a $20,000 reward for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or people who set the fatal fire, which officials estimate caused approximately $10 million in damage.

Each restaurant recycles leftover, five-gallon pickle buckets and sells them to customers for $2. Donation canisters on register counters explain the non-profit’s mission, collecting spare change, and the restaurants’ round up program allows guests to “round up” their bill to the nearest dollar.

Since 2005, the restaurant foundation has donated more than $300,000 to public safety entities in North Carolina.

The donation ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at the Oregon Avenue location of the Asheville Fire Department.

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