Firefighters gather for the passage of legislation to provide them with regular cancer screenings
A bill to provide cancer screenings for firefighters in Utah passed through the Legislature on Wednesday. Shortly thereafter, legislators were joined by firefighters and Gov. Spencer Cox for a press conference about the bill.
Research has shown that the leading cause of death for firefighters is cancer. HB65 was written with two main features to help firefighters fight cancer. First, the bill expands the list of presumptive occupational cancers for firefighters. Secondly, it sets up a program for regular cancers screenings for firefighters across the state.
HB65 passed in both the House and the Senate unanimously. It will now go to the governor's desk for his signature.
Rep. Casey Snider, R-Paradise, the bill's sponsor, who used to be a firefighter himself said that the bill is backed by strong data and research.
'Behind every number is a husband, wife, a friend, a brother, a sister in this profession,' Snider said. 'I look around this room and I know that there isn't a man or woman in uniform that has not lost somebody to this terrible disease in this career. We do this bill because of them, but we passed this bill to honor them,' Snider said.
The press conference took place in the Capitol's Gold Room where dozens of firefighters gathered with lawmakers to recognize the work that has been done. Two firefighters, Jack Tidrow and Jeremy Craft, were among the speakers.
'What an epic day for the firefighters in Utah,' said Craft, chief of Lehi's fire department.
Craft shared that he was a part of a group of firefighters who went to Arizona for a cancer screening as a part of research for this bill. During that screening he was diagnosed with prostate and renal cancer, which has spread to his lymph system. He shared that he is currently battling these cancers.
'Because of early testing, I'm going to get through this. I'm going to have a good quality of life, and quite honestly, I want that for my colleagues, for my brothers and sisters in the fire service,' Craft said. 'We'll answer any call without thinking about the danger. It's afterwards that we have to sit around and wonder, did we get cancer? But this bill can give us peace of mind that we can continue to do what we love to do.'
Tidrow, the president of the Firefighters of Utah, has spent 21 years collaborating with the Legislature working towards this bill.
According to McKell, the legislation will now fund creation of the the most comprehensive firefighter cancer screening program in the country.
'Our true hope is that other states will copy us, so not only are we trying to save Utah firefighters, but this effort, we hope, will get some national legs and and we want to make sure that that's the case,' Cox said.
The governor said he will be sharing the bill with other governors across the country.
'It's really kind of exciting as I look around this room and I see intermixed with each other legislators, senators, House members and firefighters. Is a beautiful sight for me, and Speaker Schultz said it right: We're standing among heroes,' said Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton.
In 2015, a bill passed to set four presumptive cancers for firefighters. HB65 will expand the list to 15. Presumptive cancers are conditions that are presumed to have been caused by one's occupation.
The cancers on the expanded list are:
Bladder
Brain
Colorectal
Esophageal
Kidney
Leukemias
Lung
Lymphomas
Melanomas
Mesotheliomas
Oropharynx ovarian
Prostate
Testicular
Thyroid
'The cancers that are added to this list, are added because there is scientific proof and consensus that these particular cancers come as a result of fighting fire, as a result of protecting our communities,' Snider said.
The second part of the bill creates a plan to establish a protocol for screening and ultimately treating cancer in firefighters. Under HB65, the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health would perform regular cancer screenings for firefighters in Utah.
'Early detection means early treatment, which should be a better outcome,' Tidrow said.
For the first three years, the cancer screenings would be paid for by the state. After the first three years of the program, the fire departments themselves will cover the cost of the screenings for their employees.
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