Community honors late fire captain at St. Paul event

Tuesday, community members gathered in St. Paul for an event honoring a late St. Paul Fire Department captain who died in 2020 after a battle with cancer.

Firefighters came out to Conway Recreation Center to honor Mike Paidar on what would’ve been his 56th birthday and raise awareness about the higher rate of cancer that firefighters experience.

Paidar, who died in 2020 after a battle with cancer, also previously worked as a photojournalist at 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS before becoming a firefighter and serving Maple Grove for nine years and St. Paul for 15 years.

RELATED: St. Paul Fire Captain Mike Paidar laid to rest

He worked more than 1,300 fires in his career and died from a rare type of Leukemia that’s often found in firefighters who work many fires. For that reason, the state recognized his death as “in the line of duty,” the first time the state has done so.

Family members had to prove his cancer was caused by hazards on the job as a public safety officer, which is still the case for Minnesota families. The burden of proof is on the firefighter to prove that the cancer was connected to hazards on the job in order to get benefits.

“As much as it hurts, you lost your spouse, there just something reassuring that he’s been recognized by the state to say, yes, it was line of duty because he loved what he did and it’s just something so simple just to help us know that he was appreciated, so that’s why we’re really feeling passionate about it is that if this happens to somebody else, which it’s probably, unfortunately going to, you want that same designation as a line of duty death for the next family,” Julie Paidar, Mike’s wife, said.

Paidar’s family is asking national and state lawmakers to include cancer in the line of duty deaths to make it easier for families who lose a loved one.

St. Paul Fire officials also say they’re taking steps to try to keep firefighters healthier from hazards, including the addition of saunas at the stations.