Watertown Fire Department Making Efforts to Avoid Risks of Cancer

The past 18 months have been a difficult for the Watertown Fire Department, with two deaths within the department, and Fire Chief Bob Quinn wants to take steps to prevent further tragedies.

In March 2017, Firefighter Joe Toscano collapsed and died from heart failure while fighting a fire. Then in October, Fire Chief Mario Orangio died after months battling pancreatic cancer, which is one of the types of cancer which firefighters are more at risk of getting.

This year, Quinn has put an emphasis on the health and safety of his firefighters. This includes strength, conditioning, nutrition, stress managment, as well as reducing the risk of on-the-job cancer.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, firefighters face a 9 percent higher risk of developing cancer and 14 percent higher rate of cancer-related deaths. Quinn said that several types of cancer are common in firefighters due to exposure to hazardous chemicals and substances when going into fires. Some are lymphoma, myeloma, leukemia, bladder cancer, prostate cancer and pancreatic cancer. The Firefighter Cancer Alliance also lists testicular cancer, skin cancer, brain cancer, colon cancer and breast cancer as types that firefighters come down with at a higher rate than the general public.

One key way to prevent exposure to carcinogenic substances is to get the dangerous material out of firefighters’ clothing after a fire, Quinn said.

“Carcinogens are in the air and can get on equipment or masks,” Quinn said. “You are sweating, pores open and it gets into the skin and into the bloodstream.”

The Fire Department got turnout gear extractors in the central fire station. These special washing machine take the harmful material out of the coats, pants, hoods and other clothing work by the firefighters during a fire. Quinn said that he would like to see the other two fire stations (on Mt. Auburn Street and on Orchard Street) to get turn out gear washers, too. Also, make sure that all firefighters get a second set of turnout gear.

“Currently (they are washed) on a regular basis and after a shift when there is a fire,” Quinn said. “A second set of gear would allow us to wash it after every fire.”

The Town’s 2019-23 Capital Improvement Plan has money for gear extractors and dryers in the next fiscal year (2019), and $240,000 allotted for new turnout gear starting in Fiscal Year 2020 (a year down the line).