St. Paul mourns the loss of 3 firefighters in 1 week
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The St. Paul Fire Department is mourning the loss of three of its firefighters who all passed in a matter of one week.
As they prepare for another memorial service, they are raising awareness of the impacts the profession can have on a person.
Colleagues say all three of the men were larger than life, and that their deaths were tragic. As they continue to mourn, they remember their passion to serve.
The St. Paul Fire Department will never forget Floyd Jones, Mike Paider, and Tommy McDonough.
“Losing these members is very tough. It’s a little different than an actual family member but sort of similar because we go through so many unique challenges from the training,” said Captain Brett Riewe.
Floyd Jones, a retired firefighter who was with the department for decades had battled cancer and was in remission. But, he died unexpectedly last week.
“To lose him was tough, and then in that same time frame, as we’re preparing to put to rest one of our own, we lose another two firefighters,” Roy Mokosso said.
Mike Paider, 53, died after a battle with cancer. Tommy McDonough, 28, died by suicide.
“I think for the longest time in our profession, the macho bravo stuff says things don’t bother us, stuff doesn’t impact us, and that we're OK. It’s not easy to raise your hand and say, ‘I need help,’” Mokosso said.
According to George Esbensen of the Minnesota Fire Initiative, each year four to six active firefighters die by suicide, and it is something that is often not talked about.
“A lot of people in society who are dealing with emotional trauma don’t have the added layer of going to everybody else’s worst day time after time after time, year after year after year, and experiencing and seeing those things that are so horrific,” Esbensen said.
Through help lines and peer support, firefighters hope that traumatic events like this can be avoided in the future.
“It is a significant blow,” Riewe said. “It hurts, but it makes me realize that we have more work to do.”
The memorial service for McDonough will be held Wednesday, and services for Mike Paider will be held on Thursday.