Firefighters seek action on ill health
BY BEVAN SHIELDS
For firefighters, running into a burning building is a risky business.
Roaring flames and billowing smoke are obvious dangers but there is another; an invisible enemy leaving a deadly legacy.
Now, fresh from a bruising stoush with the NSW Government over changes to the police death and disability scheme, unions are pushing to ensure the Illawarra’s firefighters are properly compensated should they fall victim to cancer.
Repeated studies have shown firefighters are at a far greater risk of developing cancer because carcinogenic particles such as benzene, styrene and chloroform are released from building materials during fires and then inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
Last financial year, firefighters in Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama responded to 1398 fires and explosions, each with the potential to cause life-threatening future health problems, according to Fire Brigade Employees Union NSW secretary Jim Casey.
‘‘The smoke now coming off modern furnishings, modern buildings and modern cars is just so, so bad for your health,’’ he said.
‘‘Some of the plastics and rubbers are so dangerous we’re told you can stuff yourself with just one lung full.
‘‘If you join the job now aged 25, you retire in your late 60s so we’re facing decades of exposure.’’
A federal parliamentary committee last year heard that when firefighters are recruited, they are within the top 5 to 10 per cent of the population in terms of their physical health and fitness but within just a few years are up to five times more likely to develop brain, bladder, kidney breast or testicular cancer, as well as non-Hodgkin lymphoma or leukaemia, than the general population.
Under the existing system, firefighters diagnosed with cancer must prove, often through protracted and expensive court proceedings, that their work caused the illness.
Last year, laws passed in Federal Parliament acknowledging that when a firefighter develops cancer, their job is considered the dominant cause and they should therefore be entitled to compensation.
The bill passed with the rare unanimous support of Labor, the Coalition and the Greens.
But the change only applies to the 1000 firefighters who work in the Australian Capital Territory and for Airservices Australia.
The absence of similar legislation in NSW means a firefighter who develops cancer while fighting fires in Canberra is covered but one who does the same job in Wollongong is not.
Opposition emergency services spokesman Nathan Rees, a former NSW Premier, called on the NSW Government to introduce the same changes here.
‘‘Leaving aside the hit it will have on the budget, I don’t think any reasonable person in the street would begrudge a special scheme for firefighters who rush into burning buildings and drag out little children and save lives,’’ Mr Rees said.
Mr Casey said NSW Fire and Rescue Commissioner Greg Mullins was supportive of the proposal but others were not.
‘‘The message we’re getting very strongly from the NSW Government is rather than assessing this as an issue of safety, they’re looking at it as a question of financial exposure,’’ he said.
The office of NSW Emergency Services Minister Mike Gallacher did not respond to questions submitted by the Mercury.
A spokesman yesterday said the minister was awaiting the outcome of the Monash University study into the link between firefighting and cancer.
A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesman said there had been eight work-related instances of cancer recorded over the past 10 years.
When asked about new compensation laws for NSW, the spokesman said they would wait for the Monash University study.
He also said firefighters in NSW had better protection compared with firefighters in other states and territories through the Death and Disability Compensation Scheme.
http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/local/news/general/firefighters-seek-...
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