Firefighters and members of the Fruitland community are rallying for one of their own. They came together for a fundraiser Monday night for Tim Leonard, who has been with the department for nearly three decades and has Stage 4 esophageal cancer. It's a battle for Tim that started a few years ago and intensified in the last six months.
From the start of his battle, Jeff Dickinson who has worked with Tim for the last 14 years at the department, says they have fought with him.
"It's a lot of a brotherhood," said Jeff. "We have all of us go into buildings together and we'd die for one another, so we figure this would be a good way to give back to him."
In Tim's nearly 30 year career, Dickinson says he's taught countless firefighters.
"We keep our emotions pretty tight and it was an emotional night when he came down and it was his last meeting," said Jeff. "None of us wanted to say anything, none of us wanted to cry but there wasn't a dry eye in there."
More than 100 people, including firefighters from other departments like Ontario and Payette, made their way to the Fruitland Fire Department to have their heads shaved and to make donations to help Tim and his family.
"We're all prideful, everyone one of us," said Jeff. "We don't want help, we want do it ourselves but that's not what it's about. It was just helping him because we know he'd do the same for us."
"It's an overwhelming feeling you just can't get over it," said Tim. "The purpose of my being was to make sure these young firefighters grow to be old firefighters because I love every one of them."
If you'd like to help, you can donate to Fruitland Fire Department for "Tim Leonard" at Key Bank at 1515 N. Whitley Drive in Fruitland.