ADA, Mich. — For the second straight year, a Detroit-area firefighter walked across Michigan raising money for firefighters with cancer.
From Thursday to Sunday and more than 140 miles later, firefighter Joseph Warne in his 60 pounds of gear, made it to the Cascade Township Fire Department Sunday afternoon after leaving from Macomb Township.
The firefighter says what he put himself through physically doesn’t compare to the overall issue he’s helping bring attention to.
“Just to do the walk and bring the awareness is the most important it's not about how I feel, or what I do. It's about taking care of these, these people that are getting cancer every year after year,” Warne told FOX 17.
Cancer is the number one killer of firefighters both active and retired.
That’s what inspired Warne’s walk last year and why he trekked across Michigan once again, raising money for both the men and who women who wear the same uniform and their families ultimately affected by the disease.
Warne says his mission doesn’t end with just this walk
“I got a call that our captain who just retired was diagnosed with cancer, this year two more retired firefighters from my station passed away from cancer. So that made us push forward again and now we're going to make it annual,” Warne added.
“We're going to look at ways to make it different. So, some people don't have to walk 140 miles the whole way, but we'll do what we got to do to keep the awareness up and funds coming in to help the family in need,” he explained.
They are still accepting donations for the cause, if you wish donate click here.
Last year, Warne and supporters raised money for more than a dozen firefighters to help in any way they need during their battles with cancer.
