Widow of Kansas City Firefighter-Paramedic Receives $1.1 Million Settlement

The City of Kansas City, Missouri has agreed to pay the widow of a firefighter-paramedic who died during an training exercise nearly $1.1 million to resolve a workers’ compensation claim.

Firefighter-Paramedic Kyle Brinker, 33, died on September 17, 2024, after suffering a medical emergency during an unauthorized water-rescue training session at the Gladstone Community Center indoor swimming pool. The training was not part of the department’s approved schedule or activities.

Reports indicate that at approximately 11:45 a.m., Brinker was observed swimming when he suffered an apparent cardiac arrest and slipped beneath the water. Colleagues removed him from the pool within about 30 seconds. No advanced life support equipment, such as a defibrillator or cardiac monitor, was present at the scene.

CPR was initiated and Brinker was transported to North Kansas City Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:50 p.m.

An autopsy completed in December 2024, after toxicology testing, listed the cause of death as drowning, with Brinker’s lungs filled with water and blood. Emergency radio traffic later released indicated firefighters suspected drowning following cardiac arrest and noted the absence of advanced life support tools on-scene.

The Kansas City Fire Department’s initial public statements referred only to a “medical emergency during a training exercise,” without identifying the type of training, the location, or the cause of death. Those details did not become public until nearly a year later in a Kansas City Star report.

On August 7, 2025, the Kansas City Council approved a $1,099,565 settlement of the workers’ compensation claim filed by Brinker’s widow, Rebecca Ann Brinker, resolving all claims arising from the incident.