A North Philly restaurant is hosting a fundraiser Thursday night to benefit the family of Joyce Craig, the city's first female firefighter to die in the line of duty.
Gloss Nightclub Bar and Grill, located at 1410 W. Hunting Park Ave. in the city's Hunting Park neighborhood, is holding a fish fry beginning at 6 p.m. The event is co-hosted by Punchline Apparrel.
"This brave person lost her life saving others," said Sporty Smith, co-owner of Gloss.
The 36-year-old firefighter died Dec. 9 while battling a house fire in the West Oak Lane section of Philly. The mother of two -- 16-month old Laylani Lewis and 16-year-old Mehki Donte Green -- was laid to rest Saturday.
During the service, Mayor Michael Nutter and Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer remembered the 11-year Philadelphia Fire Department veteran, who will be posthumously promoted to lieutenant, for her strong work ethic, resilience and leadership.
“She was a firefighter’s firefighter," Sawyer said hours after she passed. “She had a strong work ethic. She prided herself in working at busy engine companies," he said..
All proceeds raised at Gloss' fundraiser will go to the Local 22 Joyce Craig-Lewis Memorial Fund, Smith said.
Donations can also be made payable to "Local 22 Joyce Craig-Lewis Memorial Fund" and mailed to 901 Arch St., Philadelphia, 19107. All money raised will go directly to support her children.
More than 40 Philadelphia firefighters have been killed in the line of duty since 1943, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters. The last, Capt. Michael Goodwin, died April 6, 2013 in a roof collapse while battling a fire in the city's Queen Village section.
Women account for relatively few firefighter deaths nationally — 29 of the 1,059 on-duty deaths recorded by the U.S. Fire Administration between 2003 and 2012 — in part because they are still vastly outnumbered by men on department rosters.
