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.

Key points:

• Rob Gibbs was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia in 2016
• He fought the fire for 15 years and urged firefighters to have regular blood tests
• The World Health Organization says firefighting is a cancer-causing profession

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.

If you or anyone you know needs help:

“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.

“It’s dangerous, it’s horrific and people need to be made aware of the risks involved.”

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.

Latrobe Regional Hospital’s director of cancer services, Tricia Wright said every time a person is exposed to a toxin, it increases the risk of cancer.

“All those toxic chemicals can be absorbed both through the lungs when you inhale them and through the skin,” says Dr Wright.

“Firefighters have been identified as individuals whose work, on a daily basis, can increase cancer risk.”

Firies must have regular blood tests

The World Health Organization has classified firefighting as a cancer-causing profession due to exposure to carcinogenic toxins.(ABC News)

Dr Wright said protective equipment and regular cancer screening were important for firefighters.

Despite the health risks, Union Fire Chief Peter Marshall said demand for the profession remained high.

“There are still at least 2,000 to 3,000 applicants for 30 positions,” Marshall said.

“They do it because they like to help people even though they are faced with considerable risks to their own health and safety.

“Firefighter work is indeed a job that ignores quantity and quality of life in protecting the community.”

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