Captain Benny Bengter has spent 17 years answering emergency calls for Tampa Fire Rescue, but this fall it was his own colleagues answering the call for him. After a vacation in Hawaii turned into a life-threatening medical crisis, fellow firefighters stepped in to work his shifts without pay so his family would not lose income while he fought for his life in a hospital thousands of miles from home.
Bengter became critically ill while vacationing in Hawaii, developing pancreatitis that progressed to shock, organ failure, abdominal compartment syndrome and sepsis, according to the Osprey Observer. Doctors performed emergency surgery and spent weeks stabilizing him before he could even attempt the trip home. The severity of his diagnosis is not uncommon for the condition to turn deadly: medical literature compiled by the National Institutes of Health shows that acute pancreatitis progressing to abdominal compartment syndrome and organ failure strikes up to 30% of severe cases and carries a mortality rate between 50% and 75%.
Bengter spent roughly six weeks hospitalized in Hawaii before being cleared to return home to Tampa, where he was almost immediately re-hospitalized after developing a fever, the station's report notes. The setback underscored just how fragile his recovery remains, even after clearing the initial medical hurdle that nearly cost him his life on vacation.
Colleagues Cover His Shifts So His Paycheck Keeps Coming
While Bengter fought to survive, fellow Tampa firefighters volunteered to work his scheduled shifts without pay so he could continue receiving his regular salary during his medical recovery, according to a post from Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera. It is the kind of quiet sacrifice that rarely makes headlines but kept his household afloat during an unthinkable stretch.
Bengter rose from driver engineer to captain at Tampa Fire Rescue Station 16, continuing a family tradition; he followed his father and uncles into the fire service, per the Osprey Observer. Station 16 sits at 5126 East 10th Avenue in East Tampa's Six Mile Creek neighborhood, operating out of a station structure built in 1958, according to the City of Tampa. Tampa Fire Rescue as a whole runs 23 fire stations and two rescue stations with more than 1,300 full-time personnel, handling over 140,000 emergency calls a year across a 175-square-mile service area.
'Beers for Benny' Draws a Crowd to Valrico
Two firefighters approached Chris Ciulla, owner of Voodoo Brewing Co. in Valrico, about holding a fundraiser, and he offered up his taproom without hesitation, motivated by a desire to help firefighters, per the Osprey Observer. The resulting Beers for Benny event on September 13 drew first responders, families, friends and residents to support Bengter, his fiancée and their young daughter. Voodoo Brewing's State Road 60 location opened in December 2024 under Ciulla, and the business has built a community-oriented model that includes annual charity partnerships and benefit events, according to 1851 Franchise.
Tampa Fire Rescue and Hillsborough County Fire Rescue both participated in the event, with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Chief Jason Dougherty among those showing up, the Osprey Observer reported. The gathering featured Benny Strong t-shirts, vendors, food and drink specials, raffles, a silent auction and a DJ, and donors contributed more than $20,000 worth of prizes.
A Friendship Forged in Paramedic School
Tampa Fire Rescue Driver Engineer Benjamin Carlson helped organize the fundraiser, having known Bengter since the two attended paramedic school together in 2011. Carlson said the event meant the world to him and his family, a sentiment echoed throughout a department culture built on showing up for each other.
Bengter could not attend the fundraiser held in his honor, but he expressed gratitude to the people who prayed for him, provided financial support, sent messages, made phone calls and showed love and support, according to the Osprey Observer's reporting.
Institutional Support Backs the Grassroots Effort
Beyond the brewery event, Tampa Firefighters Local 754 teamed with the Firemen's Benevolent Association of the City of Tampa to establish an official 501(c)(3) tax-deductible donation portal via Stripe to cover the family's out-of-state travel and lodging costs, according to a post on the IAFF Local 754 Facebook page. The Firemen's Benevolent Association of the City of Tampa assisted with the Beers for Benny fundraiser and separately established an online fundraiser for Bengter's medical and recovery expenses. The organization was originally founded in 1909 as a widows' and orphans' fund and has provided emotional and financial aid to local firefighters for more than 115 years, according to the Firemen's Benevolent Association of Tampa.
Local brand Tampa Native Apparel also pitched in, designing and selling a limited-run benefit shirt featuring Pepe 335 and the slogan Not My Last Call to raise supplemental medical funds for Bengter, according to a post on the company's Facebook page. Between the shift coverage, the brewery fundraiser, the institutional donation portal and the grassroots merchandise drive, the response reflects just how deeply one captain's medical emergency rippled through Tampa's firefighting community and beyond.
