Walking 161 miles in support of firefighter health

Minnesota firefighters Doug Foote and Kyle Bode completed a 161-mile walk from Duluth to St. Paul Sunday to raise funds for MnFIRE, a nonprofit working to keep firefighters healthy across the state.

During the walk, Foote and Bode also educated other firefighters about health resources MnFire provides that were made possible by the Hometown Heroes Assistance Program, passed by the Legislature in 2021.

That program includes trauma counseling and an insurance policy that provides lump sums of up to $20,000 to Minnesota firefighters diagnosed with serious illnesses.

The National Fire Protection Administration has found that heart attacks have consistently been a leading cause of death for firefighters, accounting for 20 percent of on-duty deaths in 2024 and 48 percent of firefighter deaths