The team behind Forged By Fire.

Lt. Donald Coleman Jr. has served the Springfield community as a firefighter since 2015. In 2022, a house fire destroyed his own home while he was away on vacation. He spent 2.5 years restoring his grandparents' home, a property that became the foundation of Forged By Fire.

Donald leads Forged By Fire's day-to-day operations, the partnership with the Springfield Fire Department, and the intake of families following a fire. He is a firefighter first and a nonprofit leader second. the nonprofit exists because he saw a gap no one else was filling.

Donald's background includes active service as a lieutenant with the Springfield Fire Department, community organizing in the Pioneer Valley, and the personal lived experience of rebuilding after total loss.

“This is more than a project to me. This is personal. I have lived through the loss. Forged By Fire was created so that others do not have to go through that journey alone.”