Submitted by her Father

Dana MacCrimmon suffered a fatal aneurysm after becoming ill at the scene of a fire an hour earlier. An eight-year veteran‚ she was the department’s first female firefighter. Dana was a member of Associated Firefighters of Illinois and International Association of Firefighters Local 1961. She was named City of Carbondale’s Employee of the Month for February 2005 and Employee of the Year for 2005. Dana was the first Carbondale firefighter ever to die in the line of duty.

Actively involved with the department’s Fire Prevention Project‚ she served as instructor/coordinator for Carbondale elementary schools. Dana was director of the Southern Illinois Camp for Burned Children at Touch of Nature Environmental Center and was involved with the International Association of Burn Camps. Dana loved children. Her hobbies included being in the outdoors‚ photography‚ gardening‚ and hiking.

Before joining the Carbondale department‚ Dana worked as a teacher’s aide for Carbondale New School and volunteered at Makanda Township Volunteer Fire Department‚ where she was elected captain of the second company and achieved her Firefighter II certificate. She was also a full-time student at SIUC pursuing a master’s degree in speech pathology.

Dana was survived by her two sons‚ Justin and Cody; her daughter‚ Mallory; her father‚ Bob Steele; her mother‚ Sheila Steele; her brother‚ Craig Steele; maternal grandmother‚ Elsie Arterburn; paternal step-grandfather‚ Leonard Petersen; and her significant other and best friend‚ Mike Huskey.

She always went out of her way to make everyone feel welcome at the firehouse‚ especially significant others‚ family members and residents of a neighboring home for disabled adults. Dana was a dedicated and caring coworker who always did her best. She took every opportunity to give gifts of love and confidence to others. She was one of Carbondale’s finest.

She gave and gave and gave‚ and it made her that much happier. She was a wonderful person. Her life was not short; it was very full.

Dana was the kind of person that could brighten a room just by entering it. She looked for opportunities to make people feel important.