SPENCERPORT, NY – We continue to remember and celebrate the life of Spencerport Fire District life member, Robert E. Fowler 28 years later. Bob was a husband, father, school teacher and volunteer firefighter.
Firefighter Fowler died while responding to an emergency call on February 22, 1997. It was a windy day, and a call came in for winds that blew out windows on a store. Firefighter Fowler responded to the firehouse with his 15-year-old son, Tim, who was a fire explorer at the time. While on the way to the firehouse, a 40-foot tree, blown over by the wind and fell onto Bob’s vehicle. Firefighter Fowler died instantly. Tim survived, but suffered a back injury and was trapped inside the vehicle.
Firefighter Fowler’s name lives on in our community as the portion of Rt. 259 between Lyell Avenue and Nichols Street was named “Firefighter Robert Fowler Memorial Highway.” Two signs were placed at each end of Rt. 259 two years ago, and the roadway was formally dedicated in his memory in October of 2023.
His wife Gail continues her incredible work with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation which strengthens Bob’s legacy in our community and beyond. Gail describes who Bob was as a person in an article on the NFFF’s website here.
There is a memorial in front of our firehouse at 175 Lyell Avenue if you’d like to learn more about Firefighter Fowler.
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