MOLINE, Ill. — Family, friends and firefighters are remembering the life of Captain Tad D. Robison, who passed away on April 2.
Capt. Robison started professionally with the Rock Island Arsenal Fire Department in 2001 — serving for 20 years before retiring in 2021.
"He was always a guy that liked a good joke, but also knew when the bell went off, it was time to go to work," Rock Island Arsenal fire chief Joe Heim said.
"Everybody knew when he walked into the room, he was just the biggest personality," Rock Island Arsenal firefighter Ryan Sweeney said. "It's hard to explain, but he definitely brought everybody together."
Robison had a long fight with pancreatic cancer and had undergone chemotherapy and several surgeries.
"He fought cancer day in and day out," his daughter Kaitlyn DeGeorge said. "In the end, I hate it when people say that he lost his battle to cancer because he didn't. He fought as hard as he could to where he was able to meet his grandson. So I would say he won."
A ceremony honoring Robison was held at the Vibrant Arena on April 10. Dozens of firefighters attended and gave salutes to the late firefighter before a Masonic service, followed by a visitation.
"He would do a lot for anybody," chief Heim added. "If you needed help, he would be there to help you out and show up. He was just overall a really good guy, really good community person."
Because Robison's cancer was linked to his fire service, the International Association of Fire Fighters will bestow additional honors, including his name being engraved at a memorial in Colorado.
His family is also receiving financial assistance from the federal government through the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA).
"I just want to bring awareness that firefighters aren't just putting their lives on the line when they walk into a fire," DeGeorge said. "It continues on even after they're done with their job. They can end up with cancer, they can end up with any with a numerous amount of other diseases."
The men and women Robison served with are also hoping that FECA will be modified further to include pancreatic cancer as a 'high-risk' disease so a claim could be processed faster.
"Pancreatic cancer — there's vastly higher rates of it within the fire service than the general public," Sweeney explained. "Getting pancreatic cancer added to the list as a known work-related illness is probably the next biggest step."
Captain Robison's funeral will be held at 10 a.m. on April 11, also at the Vibrant Arena.
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