JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Monday night Jacksonville Fire and Rescue is working to stop a silent killer within their department. Action News was the first to tell you about an increased cancer risks in firefighters in May; and we told you Florida is one of few states doing nothing to help in this health battle.
Action News investigator Lynnsey Gardner found leaders within the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department are making their own changes.
As we've reported, other cities in floridaFlorida have data to show how many firefighters are dying from cancer, but Florida's largest city does not.
Monday night, JFRD told Lynnsey Gardner that's changing thanks to our series of reports.
"My whole family was firefighters and everybody is dying of cancer, that ought to be one of the clues." Randy Wyse is a third generation Jacksonville firefighter and he fears he will be a third generation job related death. His grandfather and father were both firefighters who both died from cancer.
We've shown you the faces of many more firefighters, active and retired, young and old who have all died from cancer.
"If it's part of the job that kills you, I think it ought to be covered and that's what we have just about proven," explains Wyse a 26-year veteran with JFRD. He's now the president of the Jacksonville Association of Firefighters and he is working on a survey to find out how many Jacksonville firefighters, past and present, have been stricken with cancer.
Wyse plans to post it on the JFRD website in a member only section and give firefighters the option of how much medical information they want to share; hoping they remember the more data that's gathered the more help it can provide.
Wyse also wants to use his position to push state lawmakers to pass Cancer Presumptive Legislation in Florida; at least 33 other states already have it. It recognizes that firefighters have an increased risk of developing cancer because of the carcinogens they're exposed to on the job.
A recent study found firefighters had higher rates of cancer than the rest of us. In fact, with some cancers the risk in firefighters is more than double.
The law would help cover medical costs and other benefits.
"What concerns me is you might have guys with cancer and nobody knows ... nobody knows. There's a network out here that we can help them." Wyse says.
Resources like the Firefighter Cancer Support Network in Florida. They've already been collecting cancer data that is staggering: 2000 Miami-Dade firefighters examined and 32 percent stricken with cancer. In Palm Beach county, 1,500 firefighters were studied and 53 percent suffering a cancer diagnosis.
Soon, we could know what price Jacksonville's firefighters have paid.
The state of Washington is a cancer presumptive state for firefighters and their officials have been keeping track of firefighters diagnosed with cancer for more than a decade. Just last month, a new survey said their cancer rates were "skyrocketing."
WJAX
