Firefighters stand in at girl's school awards for dad injured in blaze

Alex Gladden, Montgomery Advertiser
·2 min read

Kindergartner Dynasti Hartman exited the Forest Avenue Academic Magnet elementary school holding her mother's hand. She paused with her family, as her schoolmates and their parents applauded.

Hartman is the daughter Montgomery firefighter Deandre Hartman, who was injured while battling a deadly Montgomery house fire on May 14.

Deandre Hartman remains in UAB Hospital’s Burn and Trauma ICU with burns covering 20% of his body.

When Dynasti Hartman walked out of her school with her mother, aunt and grandmother, she was greeted by Montgomery Fire and Rescue units Engine 12, Truck 43, Rescue 94, Car 33 and Heavy Rescue 75.

The firefighters stood alongside their trucks to celebrate Dynasti Hartman after her school awards program, where she earned an Honors Award and an A Honors Roll award.

"It means a lot because he’s never missed any important events across the board," Melshaundra Hartman said of her husband. Deandre Hartman, she said, attends every event for their two children.

So when he was unable to be there on Monday, it meant a lot that his firefighter brothers took the initiative to support the family, Melshaundra Hartman said.

Chalita Hartman-Thornton, mother of injured firefighter Deandre Hartman, hugs the firefighters who came to Forest Avenue Academic Magnet School to honor her granddaughter, student Dynasti Hartman, in Montgomery, Alabama, on Monday, May 22, 2023. Deandre Hartman was injured in a fire on May 14 and is being treated in the UAB Hospital Burn abd Trauma ICU.

Deandre Hartman's mother, Chalita Hartman-Thornton, hugged each firefighter as tears ran down her cheeks.

“We feel the love from each and every one of them," Hartman-Thornton said. She later added, “God is in control, so all is well."

It was important for the firefighters to support Deandre Hartman's family, said Sam Castanza, chief of special operations for the fire department. “Today was a special day with the Hartman family," he said.

Castanza said his firefighters are there for each other, no matter what.

“The brotherhood of the fire department, we stick together," Castanza said. "We’re here for the beginning and the end."

Firefighter Deandre M. Hartman was injured in a house fire on May 14, 2023, that killed a man and his grandson. He remains at UAB Hospital's Burn and Trauma ICU with burns covering 20% of his body.
Firefighter Deandre M. Hartman was injured in a house fire on May 14, 2023, that killed a man and his grandson. He remains at UAB Hospital's Burn and Trauma ICU with burns covering 20% of his body.

Deandre Hartman is improving every day, Castanza said. “He is an absolute fighter, and he’s doing well."

Castanza said helping the family helps his firefighters to heal.

“We love the family just like they’re one of us," Castanza said.

Melshaundra Hartman said the firefighters have been there for her family every step of the way.

“I just wanna say that the department — they’ve been phenomenal and just been by our side the whole time," Melshaundra Hartman said.

Dynasti Hartman walks hand-in-hand with Assistant Fire Chief Sam Castanza as members of Montgomery Fire and Rescue honor Hartman, a Forest Avenue Academic Magnet School student and daughter of injured firefighter Deandre Hartman, in Montgomery, Alabama, on Monday, May 22, 2023. Deandre Hartman was injured in a fire on May 14th and is being treated in the UAB Hospital Burn abd Trauma ICU.

Alex Gladden is the public safety reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at agladden@gannett.com. 

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Firefighters stand in at Forest magnet school awards for injured dad