Mortgage paid in full for family of Pittsburgh-area paramedic killed in line of duty
The family of a Pittsburgh-area paramedic killed in the line of duty got their mortgage paid in full on Friday by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
The nonprofit, which was founded after 9/11, said it paid the mortgage for Matthew Smelser's family. A paramedic supervisor for Rostraver-West Newton EMS, Smelser was hit and killed by a tractor-trailer while helping at an accident on Interstate 70 on Jan. 5, 2020. He left behind his wife Lynn, son Logan and daughter Adriana.
Tunnel to Towers says Smelser had served 24 years with Rostraver-West Newton EMS Department, UPMC's Paramedic Response Unit and the UPMC Search and Rescue Unit.
His was one of 55 families of fallen first responders who received a mortgage-free home on Friday to commemorate 25 years since 9/11.
"As America marks the 25th anniversary of September 11, Tunnel to Towers honors the memory of those first responders we lost that day by supporting families who have lost a loved one in the line of duty," Frank Siller, Tunnel to Towers CEO and chairman, said in a press release. "For decades, Matthew Smelser answered calls for help, and now it's our turn to help the family he left behind. It is Tunnel to Towers honor to ensure his family can remain in the home he worked so hard to provide without ever having to make another mortgage payment."
Born from the tragedy of the terrorist attacks, the nonprofit pays off the mortgages of first responders who died in the line of duty or from 9/11-related illnesses, leaving behind young children.
