Fire Capt. Rick Winship died in a hospital bed, not in a raging inferno or a tragic accident while racing to an emergency scene.
But his death was in the line of duty all the same, his widow says. The fast-spreading cancer that killed him two years ago was, Heather Winship believes, a result of exposure to toxic soot and smoke during his 26-year career with the Independence Fire Department.
Proving that won’t be easy as she seeks workers’ compensation survivor benefits. The system, as it stands now in Missouri, is stacked against firefighter cancer claims, The Star found in a monthlong look at the hurdles firefighters and their families face seeking compensation for cancers that even the government acknowledges are likely job related.