By Esteban Fernandez
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — The Fairmont Fire Department became the first in West Virginia to receive the Gold Helmet Department distinction from the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer.
The distinction carries special weight for Clarksburg Fire Capt. Patrick San Julian who battled pancreatic cancer after being diagnosed in Oct. 2022. Originally given six months to live, four years later, his most recent scan shows no growth or re-occurrence of cancer for now, which is rare for the specific type San Julian has.
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San Julian’s cancer was linked to his job as a firefighter. As a result, San Julian now does a lot of advocacy to other firefighters about the importance of cancer screening and prevention. He’s the state vice president for the Firefighter Cancer Support Network.
“You have diesel exhaust from the trucks, the actual turnout gear that we’re wearing,” San Julian said. " Notre Dame University did a study and found that the gear does contain PFAS. They call it the forever chemical, and it’s in just about everything now. It’s in the gear we wear. It’s in the stuff to protect us, and it’s killing us.”
San Julian recently shared his experiences with members of the Fairmont Fire Department on the issue. The department was in the midst of pursuing the Gold Helmet Department distinction, which requires having at least 50% of the department enrolled in the National Firefighters Registry for Cancer. The distinction is a way for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to develop data points for a long-term study of firefighters and the cancer risks they face.
Firefighters face elevated cancer risks from exposure to smoke and other chemicals while on the job. Firefighters face twice the risk of mesothelioma, twice the risk for testicular cancer and elevated risk for bladder, skin, brain, prostate and other cancers.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, there are many unanswered questions about how cancer risk may vary across the country’s diverse fire service. As a result, NIOSH is recruiting firefighters to join the NFR, which will provide researchers valuable data to help them understand and reduce the risk of cancer among firefighters.
According to the CDC, there are 189 Gold Helmet Fire Departments throughout the country.
Fairmont Fire Capt. Dusty Lambert said it took weeks of work to reach the requirements for the distinction, and was part of a bigger cancer prevention program the department is pursuing.
“It was really important because West Virginia is underrepresented in the study,” Lambert said. “We haven’t had a lot of participation. We’re actually the first gold helmet department in West Virginia. We were the only state remaining that didn’t have any gold helmet departments in it.”
Lambert said safety and health has been slow to work its way into the profession in the state. San Julian also said the fire service is slow to change, but he’s working to change the culture. San Julian said it’s important that firefighters know about the importance of cleaning their gear, having PFAS-free gear and conduct early cancer detection and screening. Lambert added cancer is now considered a leading cause of line-of-duty death for firefighters.
“We’re more likely to get killed by the cancer from chemicals that we’re exposed to and smoke and other things than we are at an actual fire,” Lambert said.
Lambert wants to see more firefighters join the NFR.
“I hope that Fairmont becomes the leader and we see other departments push to sign up and participate in this, because if we want to make changes, we really have to have the data to do that,” he said. “In order to improve the safety and health of firefighters in West Virginia, it has to start with solid data.”
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