Firefighters Fight Cancer And The System

-by Tracy B Ann

I am the daughter of a fireman. When I was a kid my dad worked 24 hour shifts. Work a day, off a day, work a day, off three days. Except my dad wasn't home when he was off. No fireman then, or firefighter now, could support a family on the wages they are paid, they all work second jobs.

They run into burning buildings for a living, to save our lives and our property and they get paid shit for doing so. They willingly put their health and lives in danger for US and they get very little thanks in return.

My father was hospitalized for smoke inhalation on several occasions that I know of. Like most firefighters, he just did his job, didn't think he was being heroic, he just did what the job called for. He did it with a sense of humour too. I remember overhearing him talk about a fire in a girls dorm at a local college. He said that as he kicked open the door of a smoke filled room with half dressed, freaked out college women inside, he yelled "Cover your eyes if you're naked, we're coming in."

Later in his career, my dad worked often in elementary schools with young kids; getting them used to seeing a firefighter in full gear. That was to keep them from freaking out thinking Darth Vader had come to get them so that they would come out from under the bed in a fire to be rescued. He appeared on kids TV shows doing the same thing.

My dad was also a union rep, fighting to get the best benefits and pay he could for his fellow fire fighters. My dad didn't live as long as some other members of his family did, not as long as I would have thought, genetically speaking. He died in poor health, also unusual for my family. His mother lived to be 98 and in her own home for all but the last 6 months of her life.

I don't know what he would say about the way firefighters are being treated today but I know that he wouldn't be happy about it at all. I think he would really like Herb Jones, the guy who is running for Virginia's 3rd State Senate District, against Tommy Norment, the Senate Majority Leader. Herb says this about firefighters:

There is presumptive cancer legislation in the code of Virginia, however, cancer is NOT a occupational hazard covered by Workers Compensation. The code requires the firefighter to identify the incident and the hazard that led to the cancer diagnosis. It’s a ridiculous burden of proof. The Republican leadership has played games with this for the past 15 years. One year it will pass in the house, but fail in the senate; the ensuing year, it will pass in the senate but fail in the house

They have to "identify the incident and the hazard that led to the cancer diagnosis" Wtf?!? You can check state by state here, but most states coverage for cancer sucks for firefighters. Though, I have to say, without knowing details, the updated version of Oklahoma's coverage looks good; "existence of any cancer that was not revealed by the physical examination passed by the member upon entry into the department." (Was that coverage enacted after the bombing?)

Firefighters have a higher incidence of cancer than the general population. A 2013 NIOSH study showed that firefighters have a 14% increased risk of dying from cancer, even when using full protective gear. They are exposed to all kinds of hazardous materials that release carcinogens when burned.




My father was most active in the fire department in the 1950's, '60's and '70's. I don't know what kinds of burning chemicals he encountered, but I do know that the house I live in today, built in 1957, most assuredly has lead paint under all those layers and I know for a fact that my kitchen floor is asbestos. When I had a new one put in, they wouldn't take the old one out, a hazmat team is needed for that; yet firefighters are expected to run into what will be a toxic dump if my house catches on fire.

This isn't a problem exclusive to any one state, it's a national problem. In Virginia, Herb Jones says "the only way firefighters and their families will be protected is by a change in the General Assembly and specifically in the leadership." I want to help Herb Jones get elected in Virginia and then I want to help Democrats get elected everywhere. Democrats govern with care because it works better. It will work better for firefighters, and my father, a lifelong Democrat, would for sure like that.