Crime & Safety

Fallen Firefighter's Portrait Six Years in the Making

A Willow Grove woman presented the family of John Kulick, as well as Enterprise Fire Company, with a drawing that her son worked on since Kulick's death in 2005.

Since his son’s death six years ago, James Kulick has received countless heartfelt letters from complete strangers, including a recent letter from a resident of New Mexico.

So, it wasn’t a complete surprise when Jackie Erney, of Willow Grove, thumbed through the phone book, found the Rockledge man's number and called him out of the blue to inquire about his son, John Kulick, a Pennsylvania National Guardsman who was killed in combat in Iraq on Aug. 9, 2005.

“She started crying,” Kulick said of Erney. “I’m touched that people I don’t even know still remember John.”

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But, Erney did not know John Kulick, formerly of Hatboro, a firefighter for several area companies simultaneously, including his first, . An Enterprise member since 1985 as a 16-year-old junior firefighter, Kulick later rose to the rank of deputy chief. All that she knew of Kulick was that dozens of fire companies drove past her home en route to his funeral. And that was enough.

From there, Erney surfed the Internet for photos of the fallen soldier. She found several and mailed them to her son Christopher, 32, who is serving time in Somerset Prison for armed robbery. Her hope was to have Christopher, who works as a full-time plumber in the jail, sketch a portrait of Kulick.

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“You will realize how much heart he’s put into this picture,” Erney said Wednesday night, moments before unveiling the portrait – six years in the making – to Kulick’s family, as well as members of Enterprise Fire Company during the department’s meeting.

James Kulick said the family planned to keep the drawing for the time being, before having it displayed at Enterprise upon completion of the . A banner bearing John Kulick’s smiling face, provided courtesy of his family, now hangs in the bay and a memorial wall had been in place prior to construction, fire officials said.

“He died doing what he loved to do. He was a public servant and a first responder,” James Kulick said. “They throw that word ‘hero’ around … this is the real hero.”

Kulick, who had volunteered for Enterprise as well as fire companies in Warminster and Willow Grove before moving to a paid position with Whitpain Township Fire Department some years later, was so moved by Sept. 11, 2001 that he joined the Pennsylvania National Guard, was deployed to Iraq and ultimately paid the ultimate sacrifice.

And while those who saved lives and extinguished fires alongside him said firefighting was his “calling,” John Kulick, by all accounts, was so much more than a firefighter.

“He took me to my first fire. He came to my wedding. There’s so many good times other than fires. He’s one mentor that, for me, I wish was still here,” said Enterprise Assistant Fire Chief James Anders III. “John did that with everyone. If you showed initiative in the firehouse, he took you under his wing and showed you the ropes.”

Even during his deployment, Anders said Kulick put his firefighting know-how to use by establishing a fire prevention plan in Iraq and helping in the field.

“He just had so much knowledge up in that head of his,” Anders said. “He always tried to be the best in everything.”

Fred Zollers, who was fire chief while Kulick was deputy chief, recalled the enthusiastic volunteer always leading by example.

“John was great. He always worked hard. He loved the fire company,” Zollers said. “He always wanted to make it better and get everybody involved. He really kind of pushed people to get more training.”

Of the portrait made in Kulick’s honor, Zollers said, “I think it’s great,” adding that Kulick always had “a lot of pride in his community, in the country.”

Zollers said Enterprise posthumously awarded Kulick a lifetime membership, which he would have earned in November 2005 for 20 years of service.

“We miss him,” Zollers said. “It’s just not the same without him.”

If the letters that flood the Kulick mailbox are any indication, it seems that people who knew John, and others who heard about his service in Iraq, feel the same way.

“You can’t explain how it is to lose a child. It’s like a hole in your heart,” James Kulick said, adding that he takes solace in the fact that his son is so well-loved. “Six years later I’m still getting these letters.”


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