By Cheryl Jahn

New Bill targets cancer within firefighting profession

Jan 5, 2024 | 4:20 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Malignant melanoma, mesothelioma, lung cancer, bladder, prostate cancer. That’s the tip of the iceberg on the list of cancers firefighters are vastly more prone to getting. Cancers that, for years, were just part of the job.

“I mean, back in the day, we d, you know, it was a badge of honor,” says Pete Brbot, President of the International Association of Firefighters, Local 1372. “We have dirty gear, a burnt helmet. We had rich shields that change color when, you know, when you go to a certain temperature, when you came back to haul, it was like going to war and coming back. That was your badge of honor to be duty and to show the guys, Look, I survived today.”

But after years of fighting, the firefighters union has made a difference, drawing attention to the issue.

In 2005, the Province first recognized certain cancers as occupational diseases associated with long-term employment.

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“We’re trying to get legislation and I think Sherry Romanado, her Bill C-244, is recognizing these cancers. And there has been new legislation has recently been introduced receiving Royal Assent. Bill 244 officially proclaims January as Fire Fighter Cancer Awareness Month.”

The legislation “… establishes a comprehensive framework to address occupational cancer in firefighters by supporting research, medical education, and cancer screenings. The legislation aims to ensure equitable recognition of occupational cancers at the provincial and territorial levels by setting national standards to identify firefighting-linked cancers.”

But there is always room for improvement.

“There are ten provinces, three territories, and in Canada, it’s just 13 identities. We’re number seven of those. That’s not good enough. We need to be better. We have 18 cancers that we are we have a presumption for. But there are some states across the board that have full-on presumption, meaning that they’re covered for any cancer.”

In the five-year period between 2018 – 2022, an average of 56 Canadian professional firefighters died every year from recognized occupational cancers, accounting for 93 percent of all line-of-duty deaths during that timeframe.