FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — State lawmakers are considering a bill that would increase cancer benefit coverage for firefighters.
From the early 2000s to 2019, 66% of line-of-duty deaths among firefighters were caused by cancer, according to the Firefighter Cancer Support Network.
What You Need To Know
- Firefighters have a 29% higher risk of contracting cancer compared to the rest of the public, and the risk of cancer in firefighters is 250% greater than in people not in the profession, according to the Firefighter Cancer Support Network
- Last year, the General Assembly approved the North Carolina Firefighter Cancer Benefit Program to increase its benefits, which go into effect July 1
- Some N.C. legislators are looking to expand the coverage by adding more cancers to the qualifying list
- Fayetteville Fire Department added free cancer screenings to their annual physicals this year
Many believe the only risk firefighters face is during active calls, but dangers can persist for decades afterward.
Public Information Officer Stephen Shakeshaft of the Fayetteville Fire Department couldn’t see his life any other way from working in the profession.
“As a 16-year-old, I showed up at the volunteer station and fell in love,” Shakeshaft said.
His current position usually takes him out of the normal daily hustle and bustle of calls, but he spent over 10 years working on the street responding to calls.
“People watch television, and they think about firefighters. They think about us running into dangerous situations and burning buildings, which does happen. But your everyday life is much less about what you see on TV and the everyday. The EMS calls, the running lights and sirens to a call is dangerous just in and of itself,” Shakeshaft said.
Today, more research is going into the long-term risks of firefighting, including cancer.
“For folks like me who have been in the job 20 years, the key is early detection at this point. For the younger generation coming in, then we can focus on the prevention. I hate to look at it that way, but we weren’t thinking about prevention when I was 20 years old,” Shakeshaft said. “The key is that early detection.”
Last year, lawmakers in our state approved another round of the North Carolina Firefighter Cancer Benefit Program to help bridge the financial gap for firefighters who received a cancer diagnosis.
Currently, the program covers cancer diagnosis of mesothelioma, testicular cancer, cancer of the small intestine, esophageal cancer, oral cavity cancer and throat cancer. The new bills propose coverage of all types of cancer.
“We’ve lost some great people to cancer over the last few years. We’ve had several survive and still working for us today,” Shakeshaft said.
The Firefighter Cancer Support Network’s website shows quotes to support that firefighters have a 29% higher risk of contracting cancer compared to the rest of the public, and the risk of cancer in firefighters is 250% greater than in people not in the profession.
Last year’s program improvement boosted funding, varying by cancer type and extending coverage to more retired firefighters.
These benefits will take effect on July 1.
“So many of us serve 30 years in the job and you only get a couple of years of retirement before that cancer diagnosis. So, knowing that they’re investing in us so that we can go home and enjoy the rest of our lives and have that preventative measure or that early detection measure. It means a world to us.”
In the meantime, the Fayetteville Fire Department is working on keeping their firefighters as safe as possible.
Within the past decade, the department got each firefighter a second set of gear to be used while the other is washed in an industrial washing machine to get off black carcinogenic residue.
“It’s all that cancer causing nasty chemicals. And if you’re exposed, to think about the smoke from a campfire once or twice, it really doesn’t have that kind of long-term damage as opposed to the products inside your home are all made of plastic and synthetic products that are made with petroleum, and they are releasing all those cancer-causing chemicals on to us every single time we go in a burning building,” Shakeshaft said.
The chemicals can be absorbed through the skin and pores, making it very important to clean off the turnout gear of residue to not come in contact with the skin, but also to not wear down the material.
Areas like wrists and ankles, where gear meet, can be extra vulnerable to exposure.
“The city has recently purchased special hoods that we wear on our heads to protect [us]. Not only does it protect us from heat, but now those carcinogenic chemicals can’t get through those hoods to get to our neck and to our skin,” Shakeshaft said.
This year, the Fayetteville Fire Department added free cancer screenings to their annual physicals. Shakeshaft said recently some of his firefighters had blood drawn for a study of long-term firefighter cancer exposure, looking at the samples over the next 30 years.
“If my bloodwork and my medical research can help that future, prevent it from ever happening, then that’s all - makes it worth it,” Shakeshaft said.
The Fayetteville Fire Department has also included cancer buckets on their trucks to wipe off after a call. Other North Carolina Fire Departments are looking at ways to keep firefighters safe. The town of Clayton’s Fire Department upgraded their turnout gear to feature materials free from PFAS and other harmful chemicals.
