Senator Wellstone Will be Missed by the Firefighters of America
Firefighters across Minnesota and the nation have lost a "true friend" with the passing of U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone.
It was just last year that Mr. Wellstone stopped in and paid a visit at the Minnesota State Fire Chiefs' Convention in Duluth. He heard first hand about the concerns of firefighters from the rural to the metro communities. When he left the meeting, Senator Wellstone vowed that he would do whatever he could to make sure that the firefighter's concerns were heard in Washington. It was not surprising when he was endorsed by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) and viewed as a "champion" for all firefighters.
When the Esko Fire Department tragically lost Captain Kim Granholm this past summer while fighting a car fire near Duluth, Senator and Mrs. Wellstone were there to offer their condolences and support. It was something that the region's firefighters never forgot and always cherished.
This past week, Senator Wellstone was working on what he had promised, a helping hand to the nation's firefighters. He was preparing to author legislation that would have put fire departments at the top of the list for receiving excess federal government property. Undoubtedly, he also would have been there pushing for the "Hometown Heroes" bill which would provide extra death benefits to fire personnel killed in the line of duty.
Ironically, and tragically, it was the firefighters and emergency response personnel who first came to Senator Wellstone's side when his plane went down in the woods of northeastern Minnesota. They had come to do their duty, a duty which Senator Paul Wellstone fully understood and supported.