St. Paul firefighters hold special workout for late Captain Mike Paidar, others lost to cancer
ST. PAUL, Minn. — We all know firefighters face danger. But it's not fire that's the leading cause of death, it's cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
And now, St. Paul firefighters are working especially hard to change that.
Firefighters are known for being strong, but they gathered for a special workout that was less about the muscle and more a matter of heart. It's a tribute to their fallen Captain Mike Paidar.
Firefighter Nicholas Shutterly is with the St. Paul Fire Department. He organized the group workout.
"There are these triangular signs that just show pictures of Mike and his family, his academy graduation photo, anything that helps stir those emotions. We can put ourselves in that moment with him as if he is here with us, participating in the workout and we don't want to let him down, so that's why we keep going," Shutterfly said.
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Paidar lost his life to cancer and in the process helped his brethren gain some of the benefits they deserved, as Shutterfly explained.
"Mike Paidar's death was a landmark situation. It's the first recognized in the state of Minnesota as an occupational hazard of firefighting related to cancer," he said.
Julie Paidar is Mike's wife.
"This is not just about Mike, it's about the firefighters here in Minnesota, here across the nation," she said.
She says protecting others was his life mission — a life that ended too soon.
"You miss the time with your spouse, you miss the talks, you miss the conversations, you miss the moments that you want to celebrate what your kids are doing really well in life," Julie Paidar said.
She says they are coping by helping, with events like this this where they lift weights and raise awareness.
So they rowed, burpeed and sweat in honor of Mike, and the other's who've fallen too. Because firefighters understand the strength in numbers.
"They are just names to some people, but here in the department they are our brothers, they're our sisters. We can't lose sight of them," Shutterfly said.
The firefighters say they are hopeful that Sen. Amy Klobuchar's Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act will pass for families who lost love ones to carcinogenic exposure on the job. The bipartisan legislation would expand access to federal support for the families.
