Tina Mecey – a firefighter, engineer and paramedic at Mehlville Fire Protection District – died of cancer on Jan. 14. She was 55.
“I can sum Tina, Tina’s legacy and what Tina meant to us in one word, and that would be “service,’” Mehlville Fire Chief Brian Hendricks said. “Tina lived a life of service. Service to her family. Service to her community. And also service to her brother and sister firefighters. She will leave a hole that will be very difficult to fill.”
As Mecey’s cancer was presumed to have been caused by her work in the fire service, her death was considered a line-of-duty death per the state, allowing her to receive full funeral honors. The funeral was held on Jan. 21 in Farmington, where she and her family resided.
“For her family, that means she (got) the full firefighter funeral, but she also gets some of the state and federal benefits, financial resources to kind of help with the family. Everybody here understands that this looks and sounds different than a traditional house fire or whatnot. But the cancer part of the fire service is really important, and it’s changed even in the last 10 years,” Matt Copin, Missouri Fire Funeral Team public information officer, said.
“All firefighters and paramedics put their lives on the line every day. And everybody thinks that it’s going to be the house fire, or it’s going to be a blast on the highway that turns tragic. And what has been proven is that firefighters are significantly at a higher risk for cancer,” Hendricks added. “We do anything and everything we can to keep our firefighters safe, and it’s very difficult when you don’t know what more you could have done. So there’s no difference for me between a line of duty death caused by cancer or someone giving the ultimate sacrifice at a house fire. There’s no difference.”
Mecey leaves behind her husband Todd Mecey; her children, Jazmin (Juan), Jurkevicius and Karrington Mecey; her father, Vern Page; her mother in-law, Phyllis Mecey; her brother, Tracy (Cindy) Page; her sister, Libby Page; her brother, Ritchie (Laura) Page; and special canine companion, Mika. She is also survived by many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, friends, colleagues, church family and fire families.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Parkland Chapel Israel Mission or Backstoppers in remembrance of Tina. Visit cozeanfuneralhome.com for more information and to share condolences.
“I think it’s just understanding a little more about what your first responders encounter every day. It’s more than what you see on the highway. It’s more than what you see when they’re at that house fire. There’s much more that goes into it. The sacrifice that Tina made and the sacrifice that so many other firefighters have made, we should never forget that as a community.”
“She’ll be missed,” Assistant Mehlville Fire Chief Dan LaFata added. “Her cancer, you know, we can be sad, I think she’s be okay with that, but in the long run, I think she’d want us all to learn from it and to look for more ways to prevent it for future firefighters.”