Lack of data keeps Asheville firefighters from getting help with cancer risks

By Jennifer Emert

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    ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — In health care, data saves lives. But in Asheville, the data not reported puts firefighters at risk.

News 13’s Deadlier than Fire investigative series continues by looking into how the city’s failure to track cancers within the department may be preventing future studies of a firefighter’s health risk.

“I think anything we can do to try and protect ourselves is warranted,” said Lt. Ross Parkinson with the Asheville Fire Department.

Lt. Parkinson is one of 89 Asheville Firefighters who paid out of pocket in December 2022 for a cancer screening by United Diagnostic Services in the IAFF Local 332 union office in downtown. The office is located less than a mile from the Asheville Fire Department’s main office.

“Seemed like it was worth investing in the process,” Lt. Parkinson said after his screening.

Recent results reveal 57 of the 89 Asheville firefighters screened had actionable findings. Seventeen were high-hazard findings requiring immediate action.

“Some of them have already met with their primary care physicians, and they’re getting MRIs scheduled. We had high hazard findings on the testicular category and the prostate as well,” said Scott Mullins IAFF Local 332 President who sat down with UDS to discuss the results.

The two categories — testicular and prostate — had a total of 22 actionable findings. It’s got union officials urging action and a study.

“We’ve gotten cancer here in Asheville at much higher rates, and so we’ve asked our Chief Medical Officer to take a look at Asheville and help us figure out what’s going on here,” Mullins said.

To start, IAFF Chief Medical Officer Dr. Danny Whu is interested in how many firefighters have been diagnosed with cancer. It’s data News 13 has asked for over three years of reporting. Still, Asheville and others struggle to track occupational cancers.

“The numbers are what helps us get funding and what helps us make changes, and so it’s important to get those numbers so we can properly fund our legislation and we can make changes on our turnout gear,” Mullins explained.

Since 2021, the North Carolina Insurance Commissioner’s Office Voluntary Cancer Registry has helped fill gaps. One-hundred and 12 fire departments across North Carolina reported 177 cancers and 36 occupational cancer deaths to the registry.

“We need to keep track of everyone who’s gotten cancer, and whether it was terminal or not, we need to know everyone who’s gotten it,” said Mullins.

Buncombe County voluntary reporting amounted to the third highest total at 13 cancer cases among firefighters. However, 112 departments reporting is just 10% of certified departments in the state. The CDC and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) also have a National Registry for Firefighters tracking health data.

“A lot of firefighters don’t like to talk about their illnesses or their cancer, and so we’d like for them to report it if they can,” Mullins said.

There’s a greater sense of urgency in Asheville, where there have been four line-of-duty cancer deaths since 2018. The most recent was this past November when Captain Jeff Lyons died.

“It’s scary, when someone like Captain Jeff Lyons gets cancer and dies three months later. Those issues are concerning to us,” Mullins said. “Captain Lyons was so fit, every single day, just a workout freak, ate the right foods, did everything the right way, got cancer, and passed three months later.”

In 2022, 41 career and 69 volunteer North Carolina firefighters made claims under the new pilot cancer benefits programs. It paid out $1,632,734.36 to 55 firefighters diagnosed with cancer in 2022. In 2023, the program may include more Asheville firefighters armed with the data from recent scans and taking action.

“Our people can make decisions on how they want to fix the issues that they have, but now they know they have problems, and they can follow up with their primary care physician to get things right,” Mullins said.

Asheville firefighters met the last week in January 2023 with IAFF Chief Medical Officer Dr. Danny Whu about the study to investigate higher cancer rates.

The NC Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshall Mike Causey released more on the first year of the firefighter cancer benefit program – recommended changes – and efforts to make it permanent. You can find that information in the report made to the State Legislature below.

Legislation calls for the pilot program to end on June 30, 2023, but the policy purchased to provide coverage is effective through December 31, 2023. While the policy can be canceled when the pilot program ends, allowing the pilot program to continue until the policy expires would provide for firefighters diagnosed after June 30, 2023, to receive these benefits.

Some of the suggested improvements include the following:

Allow the pilot program to end when the current policy expires on December 31, 2023. Add retirees as an eligible class but limit eligibility to ten years following active service. When a firefighter retires, the NCSFA changes their status to “retired inactive.” Allow retired inactive firefighters who otherwise meet the program requirements to remain eligible for 10 years after the date they became retired inactive. Provide a clarifying definition for what is a new diagnosis of cancer. Change the medical reimbursement benefit to a lump-sum payment or change the overall benefits to have one larger lump-sum payment. Clarify the eligibility for federal and employees.

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