Local News
Funeral service to be held for fallen Charlotte County firefighter
WINK News Digital Team
•6/25/2026
Source: WINK News
PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (WINK) — Charlotte County is saying goodbye to a man who dedicated more than 35 years of his life to the service of others on Thursday.
Firefighter/Paramedic Jan Sanders Jr., known as Jay to his friends and family, passed away on June 18, following a courageous battle with occupational cancer. Chief Matthew McElroy reflected on his legacy.
"Jay was always at work, always willing to have fun, definitely a prankster, a jokester, but more importantly, he was a great friend and a great medic and a great inspiration to the fire department," McElroy said.
Sanders started his career as a firefighter at a very young age with Harbor Heights Fire Department as a firefighter/EMT before joining Charlotte County Fire & EMS through consolidation. McElroy recalled that when he joined the department in 2002, Sanders had already been there for a decade.
"When I got here in [2002] he'd already been here a decade, he'd already been here 10 years, and he started this career at an age where you couldn't even drive the fire truck because he was too young," McElroy said.
Sanders worked out of Station 12, where he and McElroy shared many memories together. They tackled each other outside in the dark after calls, played pranks inside the trailers they lived in after Hurricane Charlie, and once got their lieutenant in trouble with the chief while on the roof of the station.
"That was always the great part about Jay. When you were around him, I don't have a bad memory of him," McElroy said. "He was always there lifting others up. If you were having a bad day, you could count on him to crack a joke and make you laugh, but when it was time to be serious on a call, he was the paramedic that you wanted by your side to help with the citizens in the community."
Over his career, Sanders was promoted to firefighter/paramedic and precepted countless paramedics entering the profession. He was among the original members selected for the department's Hazardous Materials Team, helped establish the Charlotte County Fire & EMS Honor Guard, and answered the call to assist communities beyond Florida through wildland fire deployments in the western United States.
Sanders was awarded the Firemedic of the Year and received several Phoenix Awards for his life-saving skills.
"He was quick with the life-saving skills that we all want to strive for, and a Phoenix Award is that life-saving award, when you've saved someone's life," McElroy said.
When Sanders was unable to continue fighting fires, he was brought into headquarters. There, he impacted the department in another way.
Firefighters face many dangers in their careers, and sometimes it's the unseen dangers that can hurt the most.
"There's so many chemicals that are around us when we go to fires, and how our body takes those chemicals in, and sadly, Jay's body took on some of those chemicals, and it affected him, and caused him life-threatening and life-ending cancer," McElroy said.
"Jay and I spent many years working side-by-side at Station 12, and I can honestly say there will never be another Jay Sanders," McElroy said. "Most people knew him for his pranks and his personality and the stories that seemed to follow him wherever he went. But those who knew him best knew that behind all of those stories, pranks, and jokes was a man with an even bigger heart. He was the person you could count on when the job was difficult and when someone needed help."
Sanders is still saving lives as his organs were donated for cancer research. He is survived by his wife, Cheryl Sanders; his son, Josh Sanders, who serves with Charlotte County Fire & EMS; his daughters, Lauren and Victoria Sanders; his grandchildren; and his mother, Linda Sanders. He was preceded in death by his son, Ryan Sanders, and his father.
Services for Sanders will be at the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center on Taylor Street starting at 12 p.m.
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