A fundraiser has been established to help the family of a former Windsor Spitfires coach killed in Pennsylvania.
A GoFundMe page was set up for the family of Sean DeMuynck, a former video coach for the Spitfires who had been working as a volunteer firefighter in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia. DeMuynck died on the Fourth of July while fighting a house fire in the hamlet of Wynnewood.
The local fire department said DeMuynck was fighting the blaze, which involved heavy smoke and flames. Shortly after 11 p.m. Sunday, a mayday was sounded. Firefighters rushed to the third floor of the building and found DeMuynck unresponsive. He was pronounced deceased a short time later at a nearby hospital.
DeMuynck worked as a volunteer firefighter for two years and was working his final call Sunday. He was set to return home to Canada the next day. His wife worked as a resident physician at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital.
He is survived by his wife and his parents. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf ordered flags at commonwealth institutions lowered to half-staff in memory of DeMuynck.
An Elgin County native, DeMuynck was the Spits' video coach from 2013 to 2017, under head coaches Bob Boughner and Rocky Thompson. He was on the coaching staff that won the 2017 Memorial Cup on Windsor's home ice.
DeMuynck had also served as an assistant coach with the Lakeshore Canadiens and played a portion of his junior hockey with the Leamington Flyers.
The GoFundMe page, set up to help with expenses for DeMuynck's widow, raised over $27,440 as of Wednesday evening.