Firefighters with cancer urge colleagues to take self-protection seriously

When Rob Gibbs started volunteering as a firefighter at the CFA, he was strong both physically and mentally, but 21 years later he’s sitting on the couch at his Cowwarr home feeling like a burden to his family.

Mr Gibbs, 52, was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia in 2016, had one of his legs amputated, and has spent about three of the last five years in hospital.

“It’s hard with everything going on with my body. Sometimes you think, why bother?” he says.

“If it weren’t for my wife and daughter, I might have left a while ago in all honesty.”

Importance of PPE

Mr Gibbs has been fighting fires in Gippsland and in metropolitan Melbourne for 15 years and is now encouraging working firefighters to protect themselves by testing their blood regularly and wearing personal protective equipment.

“Don’t think cancer won’t happen to me. Be up front and move forward, I’ll do everything I can to protect myself and my family,” Gibbs said.

“Smoke doesn’t discriminate.

Mr Gibbs said firefighters should be aware of the special hazards of attending a structural fire.

“Old houses, many full of asbestos,” he said.

“If the house is on fire and no one is inside and it burns really well, don’t go in, it’s no use.”

In a statement, a CFA spokesperson said authorities take workplace safety seriously and provide respiratory protection and health surveillance for staff.

“Victoria firefighters are also protected by the state government’s cancer presumptive rights law, which covers 12 specific types of cancer,” a CFA spokesperson said.

WHO recommendations

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer announced that firefighting is a cancer-causing profession.

Fire fighting was upgraded to Group 1, classified as “carcinogenic to humans” based on evidence that workers are exposed to a variety of chemicals and workplace hazards.

#Firefighters #cancer #urge #colleagues #selfprotection

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