10 September 7 - 13, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents time. He’d only been home for a couple of weeks. Minter’s family had been told that he would be discharged on Easter but then they got a call from the hospital that his blood work didn’t look good. He was going into sep- tic shock and had to be moved to the ICU. He was put on continuous dialysis and one day in early June, he had an IVC filter placed for blood clots, Suzanne said. The next morning he went into cardiac arrest. Three rounds of chest compressions brought him back to life, Suzanne said. “After that he really fought harder, but they had him so high on opioids. I think they overdosed him,” Suzanne said. “I walked in one day and his eyes were fixated on the ceiling, and he had a rigid look on him. I looked up why he would [have the look] he had and it said ‘opioid overdose,’ so I said that to the nurse, and a couple days later he was back; but he had that hardcore stare go- ing on for almost a week.” Minter had been under the care of Dr. Andrea Natale, a world-renowned heart doctor at the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David’s Medical Center in Austin. Suzanne said that her father had gone through several heart procedures to correct what other heart doctors had got- ten wrong. In July, Suzanne began talking with her dad about the lawsuits that the firefighters and state attorneys general had filed against the chemical companies over the PFAS chemicals found in the firefighter turnout gear and firefighting foam. He had brought up asbestos, “about how he had basically swam in it,” she said. “He had a lot of skin cancer on his head, ears, nose and back.” Minter died on July 30 in his ICU room at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He was 85. “We do not even know how my dad died,” Suzanne said. “They instantly locked his MyChart the moment he died, and they never told us why he died. Did his heart stop?” They’d find out a few weeks later when they received his death certificate from the state. Four reasons were listed on the certifi- cate: cardiopulmonary arrest, multi-organ failure, septic shock and acute chronic renal failure. A few days later, Dallas firefighters began moving back into Fire Station 3 after it had been temporarily closed for remodeling and asbestos removal and for what Jennifer Brown, a city spokesperson, called “environ- mental remediation.” Asbestos was used as an inexpensive fire retardant in buildings constructed between the early 1940s and the 1970s, including some of the old fire stations around Dallas. It was used in insulation, tiles — roof, floor and ceiling — and paint. If the fibers are inhaled, they can accumulate in the lungs, causing lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The city has completed 16 of 26 asbes- tos surveys called for in the work plan. Brown called them “(limited) abatements” that were undertaken so the department could complete interior upgrades at se- lected fire stations under the 2017 Bond Proposition G. “My dad bathed in foam and asbestos,” Suzanne said. “He started in 1958. I told my dad about [the lawsuits], and he said, ‘I’d like for you to call some attorneys on this.’” The Bells Toll A few weeks after Minter’s death, Fa- ther Garcia, Kovar and the crew from Fire Station 3 gathered at the Gateway Church of Dallas for a memorial to com- memorate his passing. People filled the pews to pay their respects to the Medal of Valor recipient. His wife of 65 years, Patri- cia Minter, who left his side at the hospital only to go home and shower, and his daughter Suzanne, who had been on a quest to bring him closure before he passed, would soon hear the bagpipes playing and the fire alarm bell ringing to lay the fallen hero to rest. Minter wanted to be cremated. Suzanne said the family used the $1,200 they received from the Dallas Fire-Rescue to do so. His white urn, imprinted with a fire-rescue sym- bol, arrived a few days before his late August memorial service. It was on display that day, along with the firefighter’s standard turnout gear. Dallas Fire-Rescue is limiting its use of turnout gear as the IAFF suggested, Mc- Dade said. He mentioned recent federal legislation, signed into law last December, that re- quires the Department of Homeland Secu- rity (DHS) to develop guidance for firefighters and other emergency response personnel on best practices, education pro- grams and training to protect them from exposure to PFAS chemicals in their gear and foam. The DHS curriculum is designed to re- duce or eliminate exposure to PFAS, prevent the release of PFAS from foam into the envi- ronment and educate on foams and non- foam alternatives, personal protection equipment and other firefighting tools that don’t contain PFAS chemicals, according to the website Congress.gov. That same month, 3M announced it would stop making PFAS chemicals and cease using them by the end of 2025, accord- ing to The Wall Street Journal. But McDade said that manufacturers are struggling to get the PFAS chemicals out of the middle moisture later in the turnout gear. “That’s the million-dollar question,” he said. “That is what they are trying to develop.” Another million-dollar question is why firefighters continue to work in a profession where cancer seems almost guaranteed. “It’s the calling and the desire that God gave them to serve other people,” Maddox said. “Like my husband, who’s a firefighter, said, no day is the same.” At the memorial in early August, many who had gathered recalled their time with Minter. Maddox, who spent time with Minter before he died, met Father Garcia, whom Minter had saved, and recognized him. As Maddox explained it, in 2012, a fire- fighter from Washington State had come to Dallas with his wife and small child to visit in-laws. It was Christmas time, and their son was excited to see the Christmas lights. He took off running and went through a glass door that shattered. A shard cut him deeply across his midsection. Dallas Fire-Rescue arrived and took him to the emergency room. When Maddox arrived, the family asked her if they could hold a mass for their child. She called a church and talked with Father Garcia, who agreed to come to the hospital. “Minter saved him, and Rudy stepped in and did a service,” Maddox said. Shortly before Minter’s memorial, Father Garcia spoke with the Observer about his time recovering from the burns on his face, hands, chest and legs at Parkland Hospital when he was a child and his decision to join the priesthood, which was inspired by his recovery. The church had helped his family financially and spiritually. Father Garcia then reflected on meeting Minter in August 2022 at the hospital. “It was a very emotional moment to meet the person who saved my life and the life of my sister,” he said. “It was something that impacted me deeply because I felt like I had an opportunity to say thank you to someone who made a difference in my life, my sister’s life and my family and the lives of the people whom I’ve helped with my priestly ministry. It would not have been possible if not for the valor of the firefighter to rescue people he didn’t know.” Mike Brooks The crew from Fire Station 3 honors Minter. Firefighter from p8 West Village• 214-750-5667 • www.avalon-salon.com BEST SPA DALLAS OBSERVER BEST IN THE USA HARPER’S BAZAAR BEST EXPERIENCE D MAGAZINE BEST COLOR SALON ALLURE MAGAZINE BEST HAIR SALON DALLAS OBSERVER 18-TIME WINNER Celebrating 33 years serving dallas
