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Ann Arbor Fire Department gives emotional send-off to firefighter battling terminal cancer

Posted at 10:12 PM, Dec 30, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-30 22:12:50-05

(WXYZ) — A touching video of first responders honoring one of their own as he battles terminal colon cancer is making the rounds on social media.

The Ann Arbor firefighter was discharged from the hospital to hospice, but his journey home was one his family will never forget.

Craig Sindlinger was discharged from St. Joseph Hospital on Tuesday night, an first responders came to bring him home.

The 45-year-old husband and father of two was diagnosed with colon cancer, and discharged with his wife by his side during the emotional send-off.

He was diagnosed in July 2019 and has no family history of colon cancer.

Sindlinger spent 20 years with the department, and was a training officer and EMS coordinator for the last 10 years.

"He was great at his job. I was always in awe of him for that," his wife said.

"This is really difficult for us because we can't fix this and make this better and that's not something we are used to," Ann Arbor Fire Chief Mike Kennedy added.

He said firefighters face a higher risk of cancer even long after the fire is out.

More than 40 firefighters and EMS personnel filled the parking lot as Sindlinger rode home one last time in the fire truck seat he filled for so many years.