Riva Duncan was overjoyed when Congress approved better support for federal wildland firefighters in 2022 as they battle cancer. As a retired US Forest Service (USFS) fire officer, Duncan had spent years fighting for the friends and colleagues who were falling disproportionately ill.
The 2022 law gave firefighters so-called “presumptive cancer coverage” — meaning they were eligible for workers’ compensation and the process of receiving federal financial aid for disability and death was streamlined. After all, she thought, firefighters did not have to prove that cancer and other diseases, including lung and heart disease, resulted from their dangerous and carcinogenic work to receive the necessary funds.
But then she looked closer.
The list of cancers that would be covered was missing many that disproportionately impact women. Although a range of cancers, including testicular and prostate, were included, breast, ovarian, cervical and uterine cancers still carried the burden of proof.
“It just felt like a slap in the face,” she says. “Why do we still have to remind people that women fight fire?”
Duncan is now vice president of the advocacy group Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, which has made the issue a top priority. The group has joined 16 other organizations, including the National Federation of Federal Employees, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the International Association of Wildland Fire. appealed to Julie Su, the secretary of the Ministry of Labor, to add these types of cancer to the list by December 15.
According to Grassroots data, about 16% of federal firefighters are women, and so are federal agencies. work hard to recruit more women in the service. Meanwhile, the already risky work is becoming increasingly dangerous.
As the climate crisis fuels more and more fast-moving, catastrophic fires and development leaves more homes and communities in their path, firefighters breathe smoke and the soot covering their clothing and equipment carries dangerous toxins.
Firefighters have known for a long time that they are in danger; high exposure to smoke, chemicals, exhaust fumes and ash is part of the job. For those battling the flames in remote or mountainous areas, options to wash pollutants from their clothes and skin or take a break from the conditions to recover are few and far between. These firefighters often spend weeks on the fireline and even sleep outside in the smoke.
They have seen with their own eyes when the risks become reality. The firefighting community is small, but most know people in the field who have received rare or early diagnoses. According to The Firefighter Cancer Support Network, an organization that helps first responders and their families, about 72% of deaths while on duty in the fire service last year were due to occupational cancer.
Yet science has lagged behind.
“There are few statistics available that specifically relate to wildland firefighters,” according to a page on reduction Cancer exposure posted online by the Forest Servicethe agency that employs the largest number of federal firefighters.
Without studies that directly demonstrate the occupational hazards wildland firefighters face, policy has also lagged behind.
It took years of advocacy and several failed legislative attempts for the 2022 bill to pass the Department of Labor will streamline claims for federal firefighters battling “occupational diseases,” including cancer, lung disease and heart disease.
The list of covered cancers includes: esophageal, colorectal, prostate, testicular, kidney, bladder, brain, lung, oral cavity/pharynx, larynx, thyroid, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia , mesothelioma or melanoma.
“It was almost disbelief,” federal firefighter Pete Dutchick said of the joy when he heard the bill had passed. As part of the advocacy team working on the issue for Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, he said the move was a century in the making, marking the first time the risks were officially recognized. “We were extremely pleased and we still are,” he added, but with female-specific cancers off the list, there is more work to be done, he said.
“It’s a matter of ethically doing what’s right. It’s a matter of equality, he said. “We promised that we would continue to fight for these things,” he added, noting that a victory at the federal level could pave the way for better reporting at the state and local level.
Those with non-qualifying cancers have been ordered to file claims, a process that Dutchick said adds an exhausting layer of bureaucracy “that may not go your way” for those already fighting for their lives.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Labor is waiting for the data.
“Currently, there are no new published articles supporting the suspicion that fire protection and suppression activities cause an increased risk of reproductive cancer in women,” Nancy Griswold, an official at the Department of Labor, said in an emailed response, adding that The Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs will continue to review scientific evidence to determine eligibility for additional conditions, including female reproductive cancer.
“We know that women have not been studied in the same way as men in general health,” Duncan said. “But we’ve been connecting those dots for a long time. We have seen our young friends get cancer that is supposedly rare – and then you know four people who get it.”
Besides the obvious additional burden placed on firefighters who contract female reproductive cancer on the job, Duncan said this only creates more divisions and obstacles for women in the field, who already have to deal with a lot. “Women should not have to fight for recognition and the same equal coverage as men.”
Kaleena Lynde was a 22-year-old member of a hotshot crew – an elite force of specialized wildland firefighters tasked with the most difficult and physically demanding work – when her life was turned upside down by cancer.
Despite being young, fit and healthy and having no family or genetic links to her condition, doctors found a 2.5kg tumor and she was diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer that had spread to her lymphatic system.
“It is a very rare form of cancer, but even rarer if it occurs in someone who is not menopausal,” she said. Another officer from the same station would succumb to his cancer, a similar type to hers, which would germinate in a different part of his body. Two other firefighter friends would be diagnosed with thyroid cancer. “I always see GoFundMe’s pop-up for firefighters,” she added.
Her recovery would take years, but she worked hard to return to work. Lynde has now been committed to the profession for 21 years and hopes her experience will help others who are committed to firefighting despite the challenges.
The agencies have come a long way in supporting female firefighters and she hopes they will heed this call. When she started, firefighter clothing for women didn’t even exist.
“The crotch went up to our knees because we are not built the same,” she said, adding that many took to the sewing machine to ensure their nomex pants and jackets fit properly. “Unless there’s a woman in the process or on the panel, they just don’t think about women being part of it,” she said.
But flexibility and support will be essential to ensure firefighters can do this dangerous work in the future. Advocates say providing equal coverage is an important first step.
“With the environment we’re in when we’re fighting fires,” she said, “the smoke we live in, the burning chemicals we breathe, the pressure we put on our bodies and the adrenal fatigue that comes from being in constant combat . or flight – we will probably learn in the future that there are many more ills associated with the work we do.”