Almont firefighter is first to ‘Walk for the Red’

Rick Ziehm hopes for more Lapeer County participation in walk next year

 

ALMONT — Rick Ziehm knows a little bit about stepping out of his comfort zone. A 22-year veteran of the Almont Fire Department, the 55-year-old hay and straw farmer is used to landing in uneasy situations.

Still, he found himself twisted up in knots at the thought of walking across the state with a group of people he didn’t know to raise awareness and funds for firefighters battling cancer.

Hosted by ‘Neighbors United,’ the annual ‘Walk for the Red’ was created by a firefighter in 2019 who wanted to help others in the fire service.

The annual event took place Sept. 5-8. The walk begins in Macomb County, and they walk some 140 miles across the state. Participants seek donations and/or sponsorships to raise funds to support firefighters with cancer—the leading cause of death in the fire service.

Ziehm learned about the organization when he saw a snippet about Walk for the Red on the news. He soon discovered a personal connection to Neighbors United.

“Last December I found out that a member of our department was a recipient of financial help from the organization for medical expenses,” Ziehm says.

During a firefighters’ meeting, the subject came up as the department mulled donating to Neighbors United.

“My interest was already piqued, so I volunteered to look into it before we started throwing money at the organization,” Ziehm says.

He liked what he found. According to their website, Neighbors United has met nearly 150 firefighting families affected by cancer and has given away over $500,000 from 2019-2023. Ziehm learned that eight to 10 Lapeer County firefighters have been recipients, including firefighters in Dryden, and former Fire Chiefs Kip Reaves of Imlay City, who passed away in June of this year; and Don Bissett of Goodland Twp, who died in April, 2024.

“They all received help from Neighbors United,” Ziehm says. “Whoever needs the help gets it, and that just strengthened my resolve that Lapeer County needed to help out.”

And so he did. Ziehm was the first Lapeer County firefighter to take part in Walk for the Red, which began in 2019.

While Ziehm stays in decent shape lifting and hauling tons of hay, he found that wasn’t quite enough for his liking. To prepare himself for the arduous 140-mile adventure, he began walking to stay fit and burn calories, and added miles to build up his resistance.

“Prior to the walk my record day was 17 miles and boy did I feel it the next day,” Ziehm grins. “Still it scared the hell out of me—17 miles is just half-a-day on the walk I was about to do.”

The early September weekend was sunny and roasting hot. After the first day, Ziehm found himself quite sunburned and uncomfortable, but determined to carry on.

“Every night I felt like I got my (…) handed to me,” he says. “I wondered ‘how am I going to get out of bed and do this in the morning?’”
Somehow, he found a way. Each morning walkers were greeted by a table loaded with first aid—ibuprofen, Bengay, blister cream, acetaminophen and other pain relievers.

Among the eldest of the walkers, Ziehm says once he found his stride, he found himself energized by the adventure.

“I knew I would be spending four days with 40 people I didn’t know,” he says. “I decided to get out of my comfort zone and talked to each one of them. This turned out to be an entire new family and 30 new Facebook friends. It was a fantastic experience.”

Another fantastic discovery was the level playing field of all involved, Ziehm says.

“There’s always a little rift between career firefighters and volunteers,” he explains. “Sometimes the volunteers are perceived as rednecks who like to put wet stuff on a fire. There was non of that. But we (volunteers) are well-trained, we just don’t see as much action. On the walk, egos were gone. Nobody was better than anyone else. Everyone helped everyone.”

Helping others—particularly in the Almont and firefighting community—is a priority for Ziehm. He originally joined the Almont Fire Department to give back to his neighbors, many of whom purchased hay and straw from his farm.

As a longtime firefighter who’s seen his share of action, as well as the anguish some of his colleagues who’ve battled cancer, Ziehm added Walk for the Red to his priority list.

“The days of ‘clean fires’ are over,” Ziehm says. “The 100-year-old barns made of heavy timber and a tin roof are mostly gone. Today’s buildings have shingled or painted steel roofs, and are filled with synthetics and plastics that create carcinogens when burned, and it’s only getting worse.”

Participating in Walk for the Red was important to Ziehm, and as it turns out, to others in the community.

“The support I received from the community was fantastic,” Ziehm says. “Next year, it can only get better. I hope we’ll have more firefighters from Lapeer County taking part in the event. I can’t wait to do it again.”

Other local participants included Amy (Reaves) Nolin, daughter of the late Kip Reaves. Remembrance banners picturing Reaves and Bissett were featured on the walk.

Participants also passed by the 911 firefighter memorial in Lansing, and a huge parade on a two-mile stretch of road dedicated to fallen firefighters in Howell.

Ziehm’s next adventure included taking part in the Almont Heritage Festival 5-K this past Saturday.

For more information on ways to help firefighters battling cancer, visit walkforthered.org or talk to your local fire chief.