KEENE, NH – Local fire officials are rallying around a colleague who was recently diagnosed with cancer.
According to a GoFundMe campaign, Lt. Aaron “Coop” Cooper of the Keene Fire Department was seeing his primary care doctor after a fall thinking he had a broken rib. His doctor ordered a CT scan of his chest, and the results showed signs of what appeared to be stage four metastatic lung cancer.
Steve Dumont, Fire Prevention Captain at the KFD and a friend of Cooper who launched the campaign, said it is believed that the diagnosis is directly related to Cooper’s occupation as a fire fighter.
Cooper has served the community for over 20 years and last year received a Class Two Medal of Valor for his actions during the Cobblestone Ale House fire, where he rescued a woman from the second floor and carried her down, then went back up to look for others.
“I am strong, yough-ish, and in the best possible position to fight and beat this diagnosis,” Cooper told Dumont in the campaign.
“A really good guy and good fireman,” Swanzey Fire Chief William Gould said in a Facebook post. “Always greets you with a big smile, one of many guys that warmly welcomed me when I moved up here… We are pulling for you brother.”
Dumont is asking for donations to help Cooper, his wife Rachel, and their three children Max, Sam, and Lilly, pay for medical and other expenses his family will incur during his treatment. For more information and to donate, visit Fundraiser by Steven Dumont : Help Coop beat Cancer! (gofundme.com)
