Port Charlotte man battling Stage 4 cancer receiving new roof to his damaged home free of charge

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (WWSB) - It has been a very rough time for Brian Putman. He has been battling Stage 4 brain cancer since 2020 and now has bone cancer. Making things even worse is damage to his home from Hurricane Ian.

“I wasn’t in the greatest shape financially to absorb all this, people who I had talked to didn’t want to work with me despite what I had done,” said Putman.

He won’t have to absorb any of the cost of the roof repair to his home, all thanks to a Southwest Florida roofing company. They are putting on a new roof on his home free of charge.

“Our conversation ended up being more than about roofs, I found out about what was going on in his world and his situation,” said Merinda Gabr with Vogel Roofing.

Roofing suppliers are helping cover the $50,000 cost to repair the roof, the company is picking up the rest of the tab. The 50-year-old husband and father of three had worked for the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office for 22 years.

“I just don’t have the words to extend my appreciation, especially with what I’ve gone through,” said Putman.

For the roofing company, they say this was a no-brainer.

“I felt very connected to him because both of my grandparents had cancer, they fought a long battle with cancer, it was really hard” said Hannah Vogel with Vogel Roofing. “And I have an uncle in law enforcement too, so I think as a team and as a company, we’ve all been touched by him.”

Work on the roof will get underway in the coming days. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with medical expenses https://www.gofundme.com/f/former-charlotte-county-sheriff-stage-4-cancer?utm_medium=email&utm_source=product&utm_campaign=p_email%2B2300-co-team-welcome.