Following the attacks on New York's World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Kennewick firefighter and paramedic Steve Bailie joined an Incident Management Team that worked in the recovery effort at the site.
When he was diagnosed with a rare leukemia in 2018, it was determined that the illness was directly linked to toxins he was exposed to at Ground Zero. As such, his death on July 17, 2020 is considered a line-of-duty fatality, because he contracted the cancer while on duty.
Bailie's cousin, Chad Riddell, shares some of the fallen firefighter's story, and encourages the community to support the family and first responders during this weekend's procession.