Research helped firefighters get legislation

By Dan Hilborn
Published June 1, 2005


Research for the newly revised CancerSmart Consumer Guide was instrumental in having the provincial government make a promise to B.C.'s professional firefighters during the recent election campaign.

Tim Baillie, vice-president of the B.C. Professional Firefighters' Association, said the work conducted by the Labour Environmental Alliance Society has resulted in a recommendation to recognize seven different kinds of cancer as workplace hazards for the men and women who battle fires for a living.

"When you look at the page that talks about fire retardants, you will see the irony in it," Baillie told the Burnaby NOW. "Things that are supposed to protect people in society are, in fact, killers of firefighters."

Fire retardants such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers, which are commonly found in household products like upholstery and computers, can be among the most dangerous hazards, Baillie said.

"When they burn, they are highly carcinogenic, resulting in twice the level of cancer in firefighters as in the public," Baillie said. "Cancer is the second leading killer of firefighters and, the way things are being produced, it will probably become the leading killer."

On April 12, former labour minister Graham Bruce was joined by MLAs from across the province in announcing that the Workers' Compensation Board will automatically approve benefits for firefighters who contract certain kinds of cancers.

But the change, which firefighters have sought for the past six years, will not take place until this fall at the earliest, after the legislature resumes sitting in Victoria.

Baillie wants to keep the pressure on the government to make sure the issue does not fall by the wayside, and one way to do that is to point to the evidence in the CancerSmart Consumer Guide.

Baillie said the change is crucial because, on average, 16 B.C. firefighters contract cancer each year and half of those die from the disease, yet only five per cent of those cases are typically recognized as having their origin in the workplace.

Other recent changes to the Workers' Compensation Board regulations have also created hardships for cancer-stricken firefighters, Baillie said.

"We get 16 new cases per year, yet there have only been 17 compensation awards in the past 20 years and most of those occurred at the second level, a level that no longer exists after they revamped the process," Baillie said.

The average $50,000 cost of the appeal process is a burden even for large fire departments such as in Vancouver, and Baillie said it's almost impossible for smaller fire departments, such as Squamish, which only has four dues-paying members.

However, Baillie was pleased by the response his association received from WCB chair Doug Enns, a chartered accountant by trade, who rode along with firefighters in order to see for himself the hazards of the job.

Baillie also credited several recently defeated cabinet ministers, including Patty Sahota of Burnaby-Edmonds and Brenda Locke of Surrey-Green Timbers, for helping to champion their cause during the election.

When the legislation is eventually passed, firefighters who have worked at their profession for five years will be automatically approved for claims of leukemia, 10 years for brain cancer, 15 years for bladder and ureter cancer and 20 years of service for kidney cancer, colon cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.