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Rob Deko, Jr: Heroes Helping Heroes

Rob Deko, Jr., comes from a family of helpers, in the form of public service providers via firefighting through his father and nursing via his mother. Born and raised in East Haven, Rob spent his early years serving his local community but now helps in North Haven, North Branford, and beyond.

His first foray into public service began when he worked as a lifeguard at the East Haven Town Beach during his late teen-aged years. He served on and off in this capacity for about five years until he was hired as a police officer.

During his late teens and into his early 20s, Rob also served East Haven as an Emergency Medical Technician and a volunteer fireman, following in the footsteps of his father Rob Sr., who was a career fireman in East Haven.

“My brothers and I followed in his footsteps and became firefighters and public servants,” Rob says, recalling his joy at being among other kindred spirits driven to place themselves at risk to keep the public safe.

“It was awesome as a child being around the firetrucks,” Rob recalls. He also has fond memories of the holiday parties among the families of firefighters. “It was a really awesome time growing up as the son of a fireman.”

During his years as an active volunteer firefighter in East Haven from around 1998 until 2002, Rob, like the rest of the nation, was shocked and saddened by the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center in Manhattan.

As did others in the life-saving business, Rob felt instantly compelled to join a group of both volunteer and career firefighters in East Haven who volunteered to respond to Ground Zero the day after the tragic event that took the lives of nearly 3,000 people and threw the city into turmoil.

“We pitched in to help the people of New York City,” Rob recalls.

Just 21 at the time, the events of 9/11 left an indelible mark on a young Rob Deko, Jr., who knew that he had chosen the right course for his life’s journey.

“My whole life I’ve only known giving back to people,” Rob says humbly. “My middle brother, Anthony, who is a New York City firefighter now, was in high school at the time [of 9/11] and a volunteer fireman, [so he] came down with me one of the days to help.”

In 2003, Rob began his career as a police officer and seven years ago he was promoted to the detective bureau of the North Branford Police Department.

Rob didn’t stop there. When he learned about military friends being deployed to the war in the Middle East, he set about helping them as best he could from back home.

“Around 2010 a good friend of mine was deployed to Iraq, and I had an opportunity to send them care packages,” explains Rob. “A few other friends got deployed too, and my friend got redeployed to Afghanistan, so I started sending over care packages to war zones to locally deployed troops that I was friends with. I gathered [items] from folks in the community or purchased the items with money from my own pocket.”

During the six years that Rob owned Farina Restaurant & Pizzeria on Route 80 in Guilford—while also working as a police officer—he would request items from his customers via a donation box placed in the business entryway.

“I had such an overwhelming response I had a pick-up truck worth of stuff,” Rob says.

When the time came that Rob’s friends were no longer deployed and had left the military, “I still had an abundance of donated items,” says Rob. “So, I went on social media to ask if anyone knows anyone who is a locally deployed soldier [to] please let me know, and I’ll immediately start sending them packages.”

Then, just last year, Rob says he had a brainstorm idea for how to expand upon the outstanding support the community had shown to the deployed soldiers via those donations.

“I decided to start a non-profit organization,” Rob explains. “So, I contacted a local attorney I was friends with, who agreed to complete the paperwork to move forward with the Secretary Of The State to obtain the 501(c)(3) non-profit status, and a local accountant who assisted with the proper documents for the IRS.”

With an official organization established—Our Community Hero’s, Inc. (OCH)—Rob could set up a bank account, raise funds, and hold events, all aimed at benefiting public service providers and their families.

Fitting Rob’s early life lessons about the importance of helping others from his parents, some of his current family members volunteer their time on the board of directors of OCH. They include his two brothers, Anthony and Joe, both of whom are currently career firefighters, one in New York City and the other in Guilford, and his mom Susan, who is a life-long East Haven resident, retired nurse, and former Town Council and Board of Education member.

“The organization [OCH] gives back to first responders, law enforcement folks, military soldiers, and their families,” says Rob. “Since initiating the non-profit, I’ve had the pleasure to send over three dozen care packages to locally deployed troops,” which includes soldiers from East Haven, New Haven, Branford, North Branford, and Guilford.

And those care packages—which contain items ranging from hygiene products to non-perishable snacks—have been shipped to local soldiers stationed in Syria, Africa, and Poland to help with the new war in Ukraine, to name a few.

“We also include thank you cards and letters from children that the parents provide,” adds Rob, to help bolster the spirits of those stationed overseas.

Giving thanks to local public service providers working close to home is also part of the organization’s mission.

A member of the North Haven Fire Department lost his wife to cancer recently and is now raising his young teenage daughter alone, according to Rob. Money was raised to provide a new iPhone to the girl in this tragic and stressful time, so she can keep in easy contact with her father.

“The dad could not afford the phone,” Rob says, after all the hospital bills and related care expenses for his wife.

This coming Aug. 11, Rob is hosting the first annual gala event at Anthony’s Ocean View, as part of his fundraising activities.

“I’ve got about 207 tickets sold,” Rob concludes and hopes more will join in support. “I’ll be awarding nine different community heroes with awards that night. These are really deserving folks. One of them [is] a Vietnam combat veteran from East Haven who never received any accolades for his heroism and his service. He’s going to be given an award that night.”

To learn more about OCH or the August gala, visit the organization on Facebook.com (search “Our Community Hero’s) or call Rob at 203-996-0835. Monetary donations can be paid payable to Our Community Hero’s, Inc., and mailed to P.O. Box 401, North Branford, CT 06471.