As cancer awareness increases, departments have sought grants for latest equipment and have emphasized safe practices to reduce hazards.
Mark Resanovich started fighting fires in 1978.
He retired from the Green Fire Department in 2012 and began fighting cancer two years later. Mantle cell lymphoma, a rare white blood cell cancer, nearly took his life.
"But I survived, and after two and a half years of treatment, I'm finished, and I'm in complete remission," Resanovich said.
The rest of his life will involve blood work and follow-up doctor visits. It also has involved speaking about firefighters' higher rate of cancer than the general public and ways to reduce the risk.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in 2013 confirmed that firefighters are exposed to contaminants from fire debris and byproducts and are more likely to develop several cancers. Only in the past decade or so did research and departments start to recognize those issues.
Resanovich joined others to advocate for a state law, which took effect this spring, that extends workers' compensation to eligible firefighters with cancer. He continues to volunteer for the Greentown Fire Department and said there's a "huge shift" occurring in firefighting. His educational presentations to most Stark County departments have been well received.
"They're very open and receptive, because I think every firefighter knows in the back of his mind what we do is very inherently dangerous and that occupational exposure exists," Resanovich said.
As cancer awareness increases, departments have sought grants for the latest equipment and emphasized safe practices to reduce hazards.
The Canton Fire Department expects firefighters to follow "routine precautions," Chief Thomas Garra said. Those include washing hands before eating food on scene or wearing a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) when there could be something toxic in the air, like melted plastic from a vehicle fire.
Each firefighter has two sets of "turnout gear" — their protective attire — so that they can wash what they wore after a fire. Garra had only one when he began his firefighting career 26 years ago.
"There's also some extra steps that they're looking at, and it hasn't been implemented because of cost," he said.
It would be ideal to remove gear at the scene to avoid contact with toxins, Garra said, but that isn't always practical in the weather and might require an additional vehicle or crew.
The Canton Fire Department recently applied for a Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation grant of $15,000. It would buy a diesel vehicle exhaust removal system for station No. 8.
Administrators also are also examining the costs and potential hospital partners for a screening program.
"We are just, this year and next year, looking at a pretty thorough cancer screening program," Garra said. "This is all right in the forefront of the latest thing with firefighters and fire departments."
Plain Township Fire & Rescue also provides firefighters with two sets of gear and a policy for washing their gear and showering within 24 hours of a fire.
Chief Chuck Shalenberger said firefighters have used baby wipes on their face and any exposed skin — a practice in place for the past five years.
"We try to get the worst of it off of us before we leave the scene," he said.
The department also recently applied for an Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation grant to purchase extra firefighting gloves and hoods.
"These new hoods have another layer in there to help keep that smoke and dust and stuff from getting all the way to your skin," Shalenberger said.
Stark Fire Department Rehab Unit
To assist firefighters in Stark County and seven bordering counties, the Stark Fire Department Rehab Unit (Stark FDRU) recently purchased a truck designed for decontamination.
"This new truck has an on-board shower," Stark FDRU Chief Steve Clark said. "Firefighters can rinse off, prior to removing any of their gear, to get all the contaminants off of them."
Like the unit's other trucks, it also has a hand-washing station, wipes for carcinogen removal and bags to transport gear back to stations. The wipes are meant to remove toxic residue — unlike baby wipes, which Clark said are OK but "tend to just smear the stuff around."
The new truck was purchased by the North Industry Fire Fighters Association for a discounted price of $12,500. Clark said $25,000 in donations have helped equip the truck, which he hopes to have in operation by Thanksgiving.
"There's quite an array of stuff that we do to try to prevent the cancer issues," Clark said.
That includes classes about the importance of carcinogen removal and best practices, which is provided on request like other Stark FDRU's services.
Resanovich is continuing to educate firefighters as an Ohio district representative for the Firefighter Cancer Support Network, a national nonprofit that gave his wife assistance during his hospitalization.
There's no national database of cancer-stricken firefighters like Resanovich, but a proposal to create one is making its way through Congress.
Cindy Ell, president and founder of the national nonprofit Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation, said she's concerned that might deter companies from insuring firefighters because it's already a high-risk job.
"While the trends are daunting and scary at the same time, a lot of these cancers are very treatable when they're detected early, and the outcomes of these folks can be positive," she said.
Ell, who also is a former firefighter and cancer survivor, said preventing cancer among firefighters should be of concern to entire communities. When firefighters are diagnosed, departments lose manpower, which in turn can affect overtime budgets and response times.
Departments now are competing for grants to buy better equipment such as hoods, gloves and gear washers, Ell said. That presents a monetary need community or business leaders might fill.
"These are direct ways that businesses can get involved to support their local first responders," she said.
Reach Kelly at 330-580-8323
On Twitter: @kbyerREP