CERT Team, Red Cross And Family Honor Colin McFadden With Blood Drive

By Dean Wright, The Bristol Press

March 1, 2022

Loving his community through service was a prime focus of Burlington firefighter and Bristol CERT team member Colin McFadden’s life, said his relatives and colleagues, as they carried on his mission in the form of a blood drive at West Bristol School Saturday in partnership with the American Red Cross.

According to Colin’s mother, Lee McFadden, this was the fourth such blood drive done in his memory.

Colin, a lifelong Bristol resident, died at the age of 26 in August last year, two days after he fell fighting a fire. Medical professionals discovered he had died from a brain hemorrhage due to an undiagnosed case of acute promyelocytic leukemia.

“We’re thrilled that organizations like CERT are continuing to hold blood drives in (Colin’s honor),” said Lee. “A lot of people don’t know this but he donated himself and knew the importance. He donated while he was at Bristol Tech. It became apparent during his hospitalization that the blood supply was very low and that decisions were being made about his care given the very limited supply of blood products had.”

The first blood drive held in Colin’s honor was in Burlington two days after he died, said his mother.

“It filled up so fast that they extended the hours and it was a very successful drive,” said Lee. “The New Hartford Fire Department put one on for him and the Farmington department.”

A quilt sewn in Colin’s memory was also displayed at the blood drive, one made of patches of first responder agencies from across the country. Those patches had at one point been placed on a fence outside of the New Hartford house where Colin had fallen while fighting the structure blaze.

“There were over 250 patches and so there was enough for two quilts that a New Hartford woman made. One is at Burlington (Volunteer Fire Department) Station One near the callout room that Colin spent a lot of time in and we have the other one,” said Lee.

Kim Ploszaj, CERT team member and incident coordinator, said the blood drive was meant to encourage others to follow Colin’s example through giving.

“The fact that there’s a shortage during the winter every year and everything else going on in this world with shortages, we wanted to do something in honor of him and do some good for the community,” said Ploszaj. “This is our first one we’re doing for Colin and his family is helping us.”

Colin was known for his love of operating radios and his dedication to first response, whether that was through his time on the CERT team or fighting fires. Bristol Community Emergency Response Team Director Harley Graime said he had served roughly six years on the team. Colin assisted with food distributions and vaccine clinics over the last few years. He was in charge of the CERT team’s communications.

”I think that this event is the culmination of a lot of community work,” said CERT Team Captain Michael Vito Montelli. “It helps out and keeps Colin’s memory alive. It’s a great way to give back and celebrate his memory. We have a full roster of donations today and we’re very excited about that.”

According to Connecticut Red Cross representative Danielle Huntington, 44 units were collected at the Saturday event. The grand total of donations made in Colin’s name is 220. At the August 2021 Burlington drive, 93 were collected in his memory, 35 were collected at a previous New Hartford event and 48 at a Farmington event.