Carol Baldwin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Wakaw Recorder
Health Canada announced this fall that cancer is the leading cause of job-related deaths for firefighters across the country. In Saskatchewan, firefighters are now eligible for Workers Compensation Board (WCB) coverage for up to 22 types of cancer, six more than before. Firefighters have been lobbying for decades for better cancer coverage and now, the Saskatchewan WCB is stepping in to provide some relief. Workers’ compensation legislation across Canada has changed over the years to provide presumptive coverage for certain types of cancer for full-time and volunteer firefighters, but which cancers are covered and what conditions must be met to be eligible for benefits, such as how long firefighters had to have worked in the job, vary by province. Seventy-one percent of firefighters in Canada are volunteers according to the association’s latest firefighter census, and volunteer departments protect 80 percent of the country’s territory, primarily in rural areas. ‘Shower in an hour’ is a mantra used across borders to remind firefighters to wash the soot that seeped under their gear off their bodies as soon as possible. Previously, exposure was believed to occur from breathing in toxins, but further research has shown toxins can be absorbed through a person’s skin, and by ingestion. Firefighters responding to a scene, particularly structural fires, can be exposed to a variety of chemical and hazardous substances. A typical house fire often exposes firefighters to 265 known cancer-causing materials, while also being exposed to things like diesel exhaust from their trucks and contaminants from their gear. Still, if it comes to providing shower facilities at the fire hall or purchasing new equipment, these volunteer departments often have to make tough decisions about how they spend money.
The International Agency of Research on Cancer (IARC), the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization, declared firefighting a Group 1 carcinogen two years ago. It’s one of only five occupations to receive this designation. In 2022, 95 percent of on-duty deaths among Canadian firefighters were linked to cancer. A 2018 study found cancer killed Canadian firefighters about three times more often than the general population.
Firefighters are well aware that the job leads to cancer, but there is not much they can do about it. Tyler Packham, a 23-year veteran Regina firefighter, who serves as the president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 181, told CBC News the new health coverage has been a long time coming. Any full-time, part-time or volunteer firefighters in Saskatchewan who have one of the 22 cancers now covered may be eligible for benefits from WCB to support them and their families. Still, that coverage only applies if the cancer is found in a primary site. Firefighters must work for a minimum time before they can access coverage, and that period is different for different cancers.
The minimum number of years of required service, to be eligible for coverage for leukemia is five years; brain, primary site breast, primary site cervical, primary site ovarian, primary site pancreatic, primary site thyroid, and testicular cancer is ten years; bladder, colorectal, lung (non-smoking firefighters), multiple myeloma, primary site prostate, primary site laryngeal cancer, primary site mesothelioma, primary site penile, primary-site skin, primary site soft tissue sarcoma is fifteen years; kidney cancer and primary non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is twenty years; and esophageal cancer is twenty-five years. The coverage only applies to new injury claims, however, a firefighter with a previously denied claim can also ask the board to reconsider it.
A 2022 Safety Advisory from the International Association of Fire Fighters identified that recent studies had shown that all three layers of firefighter turnout gear contain Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), a class of fluorinated chemicals known as “forever chemicals” which have been linked to cancer and other serious health effects. These studies highlight the risks associated with the materials and finishes used in turnout gear even before it is exposed to its first fire. The advisory continued to say that identifying safe and effective PFAS-free materials for turnout gear is a long and challenging process and until PFAS is fully removed from turnout gear, firefighters were recommended to reduce exposure to PFAS in turnout gear by using the following precautions:
• Turnout gear should NOT be taken into firehouse living areas.
• When transporting gear in personal vehicles, it should be in a sealed container or bag, and preferably NOT transported in the passenger compartment.
• Apparatus cabs should be cleaned regularly and after every fire.
• Wash your hands after handling turnout gear.
• Legacy turnout gear should be replaced as new PFAS-free technologies become available.
• Do not wear turnout gear on responses where this level of protection is not necessary.*
*Wearing all PPE and SCBA during firefighting, overhaul, and while working in smoke is still the best first line of defence when it comes to limiting exposures to fireground contaminants. Following any exposure to the products of combustion, all PPE should be cleaned in accordance with NFPA 1851 to reduce cross-contamination and further exposure. (https://www.iaff.org/pfas/pfas-advisory/)
Nine things firefighters can do to protect themselves from job-related carcinogens include:
• Using a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) at all times during an active fire—even after an initial attack is successful in overcoming flames and heat. Not wearing SCBA in active and post-fire environments is the most dangerous voluntary activity in the fire service today, he says.
• Decontaminating equipment in the field to remove as much soot and particulates as possible before climbing into a fire truck.
• Use wet wipes or moist towelettes to remove as much soot as possible from head, neck, jaw, throat, underarms and hands while still at a scene.
• Changing clothes and washing them immediately after a fire.
• Shower thoroughly after a fire either at the station or immediately after volunteers return home.
• Thoroughly clean personal protective equipment, gloves, hood and helmet immediately after a fire.
• Ensure contaminated clothes or equipment is not brought into a home or stored in a personal vehicle.
• Cleaning and decontaminating the interior of every fire apparatus after returning to the station.
• Keeping turnout gear far away from living quarters and sleeping areas.
The IAFF has designated January as Fire Fighter Cancer Awareness Month. For more information go to https://www.iaff.org/cancer-awareness-month/
The Firefighter Cancer Support Network is an American organization with numerous resources available on its site: firefightercancersupport.org