Charlotte Firefighters Ride to Honor the Fallen and Support Families
Published on June 21, 2025
Riders with the Carolina Brotherhood line up at a fire station along the multi-day route through the Carolinas. Each cyclist rides in remembrance of a fallen firefighter, law enforcement officer, or paramedic.
On a sweltering morning in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, a quiet procession of cyclists rolled away from the shoreline. Among them were 10 Charlotte Fire members, pedaling not for glory or competition but for memory, and for the families left behind.
For five grueling days and more than 400 miles, the riders of the Carolina Brotherhood push through heat, fatigue, and aching muscles. Their destination is Greensboro, North Carolina. But the heart of their mission lies not at the finish line. It lives in every name they carry, every grieving family they meet, and every life they vow to remember.
“We say their names. We hug their families. And we remind them they are not forgotten,” said Bill Suthard, a communications leader for Charlotte Fire and longtime participant. “It’s emotional. It’s painful. But it’s necessary.”
Charlotte Fire Communications’ Bill Suthard has participated in 11 of the last 13 Carolina Brotherhood Rides. He describes it as emotional and necessary work to show families they are not alone.
The Carolina Brotherhood Ride began with heartbreak. In July 2011, Asheville Fire Department Captain Jeffrey Bowen died battling a fire in a medical office building. The following year, Charlotte Fire Captains James Squittieri and Chris Tackson, classmates in recruit school and daily carpool buddies, decided to do something more than mourn.
“Jeff was a friend. His death hit hard,” said Squittieri. “We started talking on those drives and runs about how we could honor him. The ride was supposed to be a one-time thing.”
But after that first year, something changed. They began hearing from other families — widows, children, parents — sharing stories of their own fallen heroes. Research revealed that North and South Carolina consistently rank among the states with the highest number of line-of-duty deaths for emergency responders.
“It was like we couldn’t not do it,” Squittieri said. “We knew we had to keep going.”
Captain James Squittieri of Charlotte Fire co-founded the Carolina Brotherhood Ride in 2012 after the death of Asheville Fire Captain Jeffrey Bowen. The ride has since grown into a powerful tribute and support system for families.
Since 2012, more than 100 emergency responders have participated in the annual ride, which has grown from a tribute to a movement. The nonprofit behind it, Carolina Brotherhood, is run entirely by volunteers including firefighters, police officers, paramedics, and their families.
Every rider must raise $500 to participate, covering food, lodging, and support costs. But every dollar donated beyond that goes directly to the families they ride for. Scholarships, vehicle repairs, school supplies, and sometimes just the cost of a new mattress — whatever is needed, the Brotherhood provides it.
“Our goal is to end every year broke,” said Suthard. “We want every dime to go where it matters — to them.”
Suthard has been with Charlotte Fire for 12 years and has ridden in 11 of the last 13 Brotherhood rides. He speaks with calm conviction about the cause but admits it’s not always easy to explain the emotional toll.
The names of fallen emergency responders are displayed on the back of each Carolina Brotherhood jersey. The ride ensures those names are never forgotten.
“We’ve met daughters who ask if we’re bringing their dads home,” he said, recalling one moment that stopped him cold. “It hurts. But it also heals.”
For Squittieri, the ride has become something deeper than an event. He calls it a roto-rooter for the soul.
Each year, the group rides in silence as they approach a memorial. Then bagpipes play “Amazing Grace,” and the riders dismount and kneel. In that moment, they are no longer athletes. They are witnesses.
“It’s grief. It’s love. It’s all of it,” Squittieri said. “And what’s really powerful is that a lot of our riders now, about half, are people we’ve ridden for in the past. They were once the grieving families, and now they’re giving back.”
Engineer Jeff Field of Charlotte Fire has served for 17 years. He joined the Carolina Brotherhood Ride to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice and to serve their families in a new way.
Over the years, the ride has created a kind of second family among participants, one forged not by blood, but by sorrow, service, and shared purpose. On the road, support members follow in trucks and vans, tending to sore knees, busted tires, and breaking hearts.
“You cry at rest stops. You hug at mile markers. You lean on each other,” said Squittieri. “And you heal.”
This year, ten members of Charlotte Fire made the journey. They include Battalion Chief Mike Gerin, Captains Squittieri and Troy Ratchford, Engineers Jimmy Greene and Jeff Field, Firefighters Dante Gazerro, Maddy Gazerro, Jesus Padilla, and Griffin Tracy, along with Suthard from Fire Communications.
For some, like Field, it’s about giving back.
“This is something bigger than myself,” said Field, a 17-year veteran of Charlotte Fire. “It’s about serving the families who have paid the ultimate price.”
Griffin Tracy, a firefighter with just two and a half years on the job, said the ride was deeply personal from the start.
“I was drawn in by Squid [Squittieri], but what really got me was hearing the stories, seeing the families, hearing Amazing Grace, riding into towns where they’re waiting for us,” he said. “It humbles you.”
On one recent evening, the riders met the daughter of a fallen firefighter. As they arrived, she asked quietly if they had brought her dad home.
Firefighter Griffin Tracy joined Charlotte Fire just two and a half years ago. He says being part of the Carolina Brotherhood Ride is a humbling experience that reminds him of the meaning behind the job.
“It broke all of us,” Tracy said. “But it reminded us why we’re here.”
The 2025 route took riders from Murrells Inlet to Summerville, Irmo, Easley, Mount Holly, and finally, Greensboro, covering over 400 miles in five days. The terrain is brutal at times. The weather is unforgiving. But each pedal stroke carries a name.
“This isn’t about athleticism,” said Squittieri. “It’s about endurance of the heart.”
And when they arrive at their overnight stops, often firehouses or civic centers, they are welcomed like family. The families of the fallen show up, year after year, with tears and gratitude and stories to share.
“Sometimes, all they want is to know their loved one is still remembered,” said Suthard. “We make sure of that.”
Members of Charlotte Fire participating in the 2025 Carolina Brotherhood Ride pause at a firehouse during their journey to honor fallen emergency responders and support their families.
The Brotherhood doesn’t forget. In fact, forgetting isn’t an option.
As Squittieri explained, “We’ve already got the next two years planned. Because unfortunately, there will always be more names to ride for.”
In its 13th year, the Carolina Brotherhood is more than a ride. It is a rolling memorial, a therapy session, and a promise kept.
What began as a tribute to one fallen firefighter has become a legacy of support, one driven by the belief that the uniform doesn’t end when the shift does and that duty to each other doesn’t fade with time.
For the Charlotte Fire riders, this is part of who they are. Not because they have to. Because they choose to.
And for Squittieri, it’s as personal now as it was the first time he climbed onto his bike more than a decade ago.
“I can’t imagine not doing it,” he said. “It’s bigger than me now. It’s bigger than all of us. And that’s exactly the way it should be.”