May 6, 2023 2 min read

A GoFundMe page has been established for a longtime Washington County firefighter recently diagnosed with leukemia.

Mark Husak, 65, of Vestaburg, said he received the diagnosis about two weeks ago, saying his prognosis is not good.

“It really hasn’t all sunk in yet,” Husak said Thursday.

Husak was a Washington County 911 dispatcher for almost 24 years before retiring in 2015 and has been a firefighter with the East Bethlehem Volunteer Fire Company in Fredericktown for 34 years.

It is Husak’s second bout with cancer. In June 2014, he was diagnosed with rectal and colon cancer. That same week, he also was diagnosed with a complete blockage in the lower chamber of his heart.

Jim Faure met Husak when Faure also worked as a dispatcher and considers Husak to be a close friend.

“He’s a caring guy,” Faure said. “He would give the shirt off of his back to anybody.”

Faure also is a fellow firefighter with the Marianna and Cecil No. 2 fire departments.

Faure started the GoFundMe page for Husak. He hopes the four fire departments in the Bethlehem-Center School District – Marianna, Richeyville, East Bethlehem and Denbo Vesta Six – will join in a fundraiser to help Husak with his medical bills.

“He told me the first round of cancer nine years ago almost bankrupted him,” Faure said. “The man is struggling pretty bad right now. He’s just trying to get through it.”

Husak is touched by the establishment of the GoFundMe page. “I think it’s really great,” he said.

His main concern is for his family, especially his 12-year-old son Logan. Husak has four children, including three grown daughters.

Husak also has been a foster parent for 36 children.

“He took 36 kids into his home and gave them a loving home,” Faure said.

Those interested in helping Husak can visit the GoFundMe page at gofund.me/ad227caa. It also is accessible on Facebook.