ADA, Mich. (WOOD) — Firefighters and families made a 140-mile trek across Michigan, ending at the Cascade Township Fire Station, to back their brothers and sisters in red in a different fight.
Nearly 60 people made the slow, grueling walk from Montcomb Township to Ada in honor of their fellow firefighters battling cancer during Walk for The Red.
140-mile charity walk to raise money for firefighters battling cancer
“Our firefighters are in their own pandemic with cancer and they’re dying at a rate faster than almost anybody else and they’re contracting it more than anybody else,” said Joe Warne, a Macomb Township Firefighter and President of Neighbors United. “A lot of people just don’t know about it and they don’t know that they’re struggling to pay their bills because they never ask for help.”
Occupational cancer has become the leading cause of firefighter deaths according to the International Association of Fire Fighters. Warne started Walk for The Red nine years ago after hearing about fellow firefighters battling cancer, many of whom struggled to make ends meet. Now the walk helps financially support firefighter families impacted by cancer…