Through exercise, hundreds raise mental health awareness to honor fallen St. Paul firefighter

A light breeze and the twang of country music filled the air at Conway Recreation Center in St. Paul on Wednesday as more than 100 people ran laps, lifted sandbags and yanked rowing machines. Some donned athletic clothing, while others wore firefighter gear. Trainers' voices boomed over a loud speaker and encouraged them to press on.

But it was more than just group exercise for the firefighters and community members: It was a way to pay tribute to their friend and colleague Tommy McDonough, a St. Paul firefighter who died by suicide in 2020. He was 28 years old.

The group, which included McDonough's family and 4-year-old son, Waylon, joined the five-hour "Tommy" workout, which featured group exercises led by trained professionals from across the Twin Cities. McDonough enjoyed exercise, and officials hope that the commemorative event will encourage people to invest in their physical and mental health. Participants ran laps around the recreation center park, doing some of McDonough's favorite workouts and exercising to country music — one of his favorite genres.

"Tommy would've loved this," Tommy's father, Tom McDonough, also a career St. Paul firefighter, said through tears. "It means so much to us that the department hasn't forgotten. And you not only haven't forgotten, but you're moving forward with all the types of things that would help prevent this from happening to somebody."

Tommy McDonough was remembered as "a big kid" who enjoyed hunting, fishing and spending time with his family. He started exploring the firefighter profession at age 14, working to follow his father's footsteps. But after more than a decade of work, McDonough's mental health began to suffer.

Years of traumatic scenes and rescues took a toll. Reports say that he became short-tempered, and family began to worry about his alcohol use. That struggle reached a crisis point in 2020, but shutdowns brought by COVID created more financial barriers from resources that could have helped him. McDonough took his life later that year, leaving behind his fiancée and two children.

"You've got to make it as easy as possible for firefighters to seek help," Tom McDonough said. "They're somewhat resistant to seek mental health help in the first place, so even the smallest of barriers placed [could] stop it."

According to the Minnesota Firefighter Initiative (MnFire), many in the field go through similar crises. Research cited by the initiative suggests that higher levels of suicidal thoughts and actions are tied to how much time someone is a firefighter.

"As our heroes that we all rely on, you see a lot, you experience a lot and you just carry a lot of trauma and crisis," St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said. "To take a crisis, a heartbreak like this, and channel it into a workout is beyond inspiring."

State lawmakers passed a $4 million program last year to support firefighters. Called the Hometown Heroes Assistance Program, it helped to fund a 24/7 mental health hotline, free visits to mental health clinicians, health and wellness training and critical illness insurance policies that are valued up to $20,000. Tommy's father sought help from the program after his son's death, and he said such resources show progress in supporting firefighters' mental health. Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill to extend the program earlier this year, but officials say there's more work to do.

"We really want to remove the stigma around mental health," said Wayne Kewitsch, executive director of the Minnesota Firefighter Initiative. "Our long-term goal at MnFire is that the incidents of mental health, cardiac, cancer are the same as the general population ... so your risk is not coming from the job."