BALTIMORE — The families of two Maryland fallen heroes received an early Independence Day gift, thanks to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
The non-profit charitable organization on Tuesday paid off the home mortgages of late Baltimore City Fire lieutenant Paul Butrim and Wicomico County Sheriff’s deputy Glenn Hilliard.
Butrim and two fellow firefighters were killed in the line of duty on January 24, 2022, while battling a vacant house fire on Stricker Street.
Butrim and his wife Rachel lived in Colora, before their daughter Paisley was born after his death.
Hilliard was shot and killed while chasing down a wanted felon on June 12, 2022.
He left behind a wife, Tashica, and three children, De'Aijah, Jersi, and Trenton.
The couple purchased a home in Berlin prior to the tragedy.
Now both families no longer have to worry about future mortgage payments.
"Tunnel to Towers immediately took a huge burden off of me and my family by paying our mortgage. When we lost Glenn I was in the middle of nursing school and Glenn was the sole provider for our family," said Tashica. We may have lost our family home if it were not for the Tunnel to Towers."
Tunnel to Towers has paid of the homes of several other Maryland heroes in the past, including Howard County fire lieutenant Nathan Flynn.
