By Paul Paterra
The Tribune-Review
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s firefighters are lobbying for a proposed bill that could benefit their brethren who have been diagnosed with cancer.
The Cancer Presumption Bill assumes any veteran firefighter who develops the disease did so as a result of the job’s hazards, said Capt. Randy Dubich of the Jeannette Fire Department. Under the proposed legislation, the burden would be placed on the employer or municipality to prove that job hazards were not a major contributor to cancer for a firefighter who has served four or more years. Benefits would be disbursed either by the municipality’s insurance company or workers’ compensation carrier.
“We’re trying to get this bill passed not only for us, but for future generations,” Dubich said.
Dubich said firefighters are vulnerable “with all the hazards and the stuff we breathe out there, even with our breathing apparatus on — from the diesel fumes in our (department) garage to the by-products of combustion.”
Thirty states have adopted similar measures.
“It will give us protection when firefighters, both career and volunteer, contract cancer,” said Gerry Tedesco, a McKeesport firefighter and vice president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association."They have the opportunity to submit a claim to workers’ compensation if they’re able to prove their cancer has occurred during the course of performing their duties as a firefighter.”
Rep. Kevin Murphy, D-Scranton, is the sponsor of the bill that he said is “very personal” to him. A close friend, Robert Shea, a former Scranton firefighter, died of kidney cancer in January at age 39.
“When I was running, he asked me what I could do through contacts and legislators to ask for support of the cancer presumption bill,” Murphy said. “He knew this bill wasn’t going to be passed to help him. But he was concerned about his union brothers and sisters who contract one of these forms of cancer, that they and their families are protected and at least have the peace of mind that they will be compensated.
“We have an obligation to help all firefighters, both pro and volunteer, to make sure these people that work to protect our families are also protected,” he said.
The bill was approved in the House, 186-3, and is before the Senate.
But some legislators are hesitant to include volunteer firefighters.
“The only difference between paid or volunteer, as far as exposure is concerned, is one takes home a check and one does not,” said Tom Savage, executive director of the Pennsylvania Fire and Emergency Services Institute. “If you’re exposed, you’re exposed. Anything you go to, you have toxic materials. ... Even residential fires, everything is made of chemicals now.”
Murphy said the bill addresses that issue by requiring volunteer fire companies to report their calls to the state’s PenFirs program to qualify for compensation.
Art Martynuska, president of the state association, said numerous studies have shown that cancers, including those that attack the brain, colon, liver and prostate, are more prevalent in firefighters than in the general population. The state receives fewer than 10 claims a year from firefighters for workers’ compensation for cancer.
“The impact on workers’ compensation is less than 1 percent,” said Martynuska, assistant chief in Johnstown and a firefighter for 19 years. “Unfortunately, when our folks get these types of cancer benefits, they’re not paid very long. These are aggressive types of cancer. You don’t stick around very long.”
“It’s one of those common-sense bills that many states already have as legislation that protects our paid and volunteer firefighters,” said Rep. Marc Gergely, D-White Oak, acting chairman of the labor committee involved with hammering out the bill.
“There are hundreds, if not thousands, of chemicals in a house to be aware of. I give the firefighters a lot of credit for their diligence and education on this issue,” Gergely said.
Rep. Ted Harhai, D-Monessen, supports the bill, but said he worries about what could happen to municipalities if the burden of proof falls upon them.
“I’m concerned about the toll it can take on a municipality,” Harhai said. “We need to set something up to properly fund that. My hope is we come to some resolution, because we’re talking about people who may sacrifice their lives on the job.”
Lawmakers have raised other concerns — including covering firefighters who have a history of smoking.
“If you smoked, they don’t want to cover your cancer,” Dubich said. “They feel it is your fault if you have cancer. Years ago, that used to be the norm. If you were a firefighter in the ‘50s, ‘60s, you smoked. Nowadays, we’re not (smokers).”
In June, the state association became the first firefighters’ organization in the country to offer a smoking cessation program, with the goal of becoming tobacco-free.
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