LAKE ELMO, Minn. — Some first responders and their families in the metro will get help when they lose a loved one in the line of duty, thanks to a local foundation.
That Front Line Foundation is holding a ceremony on Wednesday. Among those they're honoring, the family of the nurse who died in a recent helicopter crash in Brainerd.
Deb Schott died when the med-flight helicopter she was crewing went down at the Brainerd Airport in June. More than two months later, her former colleagues let KARE11 News take a ride with them.
“It’s nice to see her and her family have some support and help,” said paramedic Greg Davidson.
They say they don’t ever forget about Deb, and all the other emergency responders who've died on the job.
Cyrea Lynch with The Frontline Foundation said these families go through so much daily.
“Whether it's a wife, or a mother, or a child and it's just a way for us to be able to help honor them as they go through the struggles after losing a family member,” Lynch said.
Deb's family will be one of the six emergency responder families who'll get a check from the foundation. Lynch said the others are corrections office Joseph Parise, conservation officer Eugene Wynn, corrections officer Joseph Gomm, helicopter pilot Timothy McDonald, and officer Shannon “Opie” Barron.
“This is our way of just being able to support the families that have paid basically the ultimate sacrifice,” Lynch said.
It’s a small gesture to help with expenses for these families until benefits kick in.
“At the end of the day, everybody wants to go home safe, but I was thinking what a great deal this foundation is for those who don’t get to go home safe,” said Davidson.
The ceremony is at 10:30 a.m. at the Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo.
You can donate to the Front Line Foundation here. The donation button is located at the bottom of the linked page.
