The Brentwood community is mourning the loss of a volunteer firefighter and military veteran.

East Brentwood Fire Department is where 31-year-old Marcos Ledesma spent most of his time as a volunteer. Members there and others have raised more than $15,000 for his family after his death.

"He put other people first before himself,” says Marcos Ledesma’s brother, Gabriel Ledesma.

Gabriel Ledesma says his older brother always looked out for others, which was part of the reason he joined the Army and later volunteered as a Brentwood firefighter, not far from where he grew up.

"This place here was his home…and he came here and tried to do the best that he can, doesn't matter the task that he had to do,” says his mother, Elsa Ledesma.

Marcos Ledesma died Saturday in a car crash on the Southern State. A Bay Shore firefighter at the scene called the East Brentwood Fire Department’s chiefs to tell them a uniform from their department was in the car.

The chiefs say they raced to the scene and later broke the news to Ledesma's family.

"Never did it before, I hope I never have to do it again,” says Chief Frank Vasquez.

In the midst of their grief for the fallen firefighter, the department banded together and stood out in the hot sun for about 10 hours Saturday for a "Fill the Boot' fundraiser to help the Ledesma family.

"Within five hours, I had $15,000,” Vasquez says.

The chief says they raised enough money to cover the funeral costs and to the Ledesma family.