Over the last 18 years, Key Largo Fire Rescue’s new chief, Jeff Morse, has cycled thousands of miles in support of fallen first responders.
“I want to do something to show the families we haven’t forgotten them,” said Morse, who along with his wife, Candy, founded the Brotherhood Ride.
The idea came to them following a catastrophic fire inside a Charleston, S.C. furniture showroom and warehouse in 2007. Nine firefighters lost their lives when a blaze swept through a Sofa Super Store, causing the building to collapse.
At the time of the tragedy, Morse was working as a firefighter in the North Collier Fire Department. As a member of the honor guard, he was all too familiar with the risks first responders take every day to protect their communities and the sacrifices some families are forced to endure.
“So many times, being on the honor guard, you go to funerals and you always hear those famous words, ‘never forget, never forget’, and the guys mean it but we’re busy, everyone has their own lives and we go on,” recalled Morse, who made it his mission to make sure families of the fallen knew they were not forgotten.
“The very first year we rode our bicycles from Naples, Florida to Charleston, South Carolina. It took us nine days to do it and nine guys had died, so we called it nine days for nine heroes,” said Morse.
“We thought it was going to be a one-time deal,” recalled Morse of the ride. “We weren’t back in Fort Myers for about a month and officer Andrew Widman was shot and killed in downtown Fort Myers.”
“They had given us a big police escort when we had done the Charleston Nine Ride, so they reached out to us and said ‘you did that for the firefighters, it was amazing, can you do it for our guy?’” recalled Morse of the second ride, which covered 413 miles around the state to honor slain Fort Myers Police Officer Andrew Widman and to raise money for his family. Widman’s badge number was 413.
“And that’s kind of where the fire and police side of things came together and it’s grown since then,” said Fort Myers Police Department Captain Shawn Yates.
Fast forward nearly two decades later, and Morse and roughly 40 other current or retired first responder cyclists from around the state and country, including Captain Yates, are preparing to embark on another Brotherhood Ride for the 19th year.
On Saturday, Oct. 17, the 600-mile ride will start in Fort Myers, travel up to the central part of the state, head back down the east coast, and end in Miami. It will take seven days. Along the way, the cyclists will meet with families of 22 Florida first responders who lost their lives last year. So far, $35,000 has been raised for this upcoming ride.
To raise money, riders are sponsored and outright donations are also collected. Over the years, the Brotherhood Ride has secured key sponsors who help keep costs down. One essential sponsor is the Elks Lodge. During the journey, the Elks provide hot meals and showers, and a place for riders to sleep on air mattresses.
“The Elks are a huge sponsor of this, and without them, we wouldn’t be able to do the ride,” said Chief Morse.
“We stay there to keep our costs to a minimum so our fundraising doesn’t go to hotels every night,” added Captain Yates.
Yates started riding in 2019, one year after Fort Myers Police Department Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller was shot and killed during a robbery investigation.
“I will continue to go as long as my body will let me,” he said, describing the experience as rewarding and moving.
“I remember up in the St. Augustine area, we rode into a fire station that had lost one of their firefighters. Just to see the look on the children’s faces and the wife’s face, and what that meant to them — knowing these strangers were here to honor their loved one — was powerful,” said Yates.
Every year, Morse asks families of those they have honored to share motivational letters with the riders, usually shared with the team after especially grueling days of the ride.
In 2017, Jenny Terry lost her husband Steve Terry, a Hernando County firefighter/paramedic. The 53-year-old suffered a medical emergency while on duty and was found unresponsive by fellow firefighters. The Brotherhood Ride honored him the following year. In her letter to participants, the widow wrote,
“You may find yourselves tired, sore, riding into relentless headwinds, wondering how many more miles your legs can manage. In those moments, please remember the families waiting along the way. Remember that behind every name you carry is a husband or wife, a mother or father, children, friends and coworkers whose lives were forever changed. To you, it may sometimes feel like another long mile on a bicycle. To a family of a fallen first responder, that mile says, ‘We remember.’”
Chief Morse, who took the reins of Key Largo Fire Rescue in June, is already anticipating new riders from his department will participate in future rides.
“I’ve already gotten a lot of interest in next year’s ride,” said Morse. “A lot of people here at this station have been very supportive and wished they could have joined if they had known earlier. I’ve already got a list of guys for next year.”
For more information on how to donate to the Brotherhood Ride to support the families of fallen first responders, visit brotherhoodride.com. The website includes a list of the 22 first responders being honored during this upcoming ride.
