Retired firefighter walks length of Florida to raise awareness for health benefits for firefighters

Retired firefighter Tom “Bull” Hill is going for a walk. A 650-mile walk, and he’s doing it alongside several of his fellow firefighters from stations in Florida. They’re going all the way from Key West to Tallahassee, stopping at fire stations along the way.

They’re calling it #MarchoftheBull, and they’re doing it to raise awareness and to lobby for stronger benefits for firefighters. Specifically, benefits for families of firefighters who died of cancer.

For Bull, this walk is personal. He says two firefighters who were close to him died of cancer, leaving their families with heavy financial losses, and no one to help.

“I don’t know if I’d really call it a ‘mission’ as much as just fulfilling a promise to two guys,” he told Fox 35 Orlando.

Bull’s march began as a tribute to his two friends, but now he carries the patches of 83 firefighters who have died from cancer. He hopes that he can gather signatures and raise awareness, trying to ensure that no firefighter who dies of cancer leaves behind a family in need.