NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — In the past, FDNY firefighters often strived to become what was called a “salty firefighter.”
“A salty firefighter, I mean you look at old photos and it’s the grizzly, old firefighter. He’s dirty, he just came out of battle from a big fire,” said FDNY Deputy Chief Frank Leeb.
It was a badge of honor to be referred to as such, but as WCBS 880’s Sean Adams learned in this week’s “Difference Makers: Stories from Main Street,” the department is trying to move away from that image.
Leeb says there’s been a sudden increase in occupational cancer with dozens of young firefighters getting sick from exposure to toxins on the job. He says it’s totally different from the World Trade Center-related cancers.
“The last two years, some guys they’ll refer to me as the ‘cancer guy,’” Leeb said. “Guys that don't even know me, they'll come up to me and say ‘oh, you're the cancer guy.’”
For the deputy chief, educating firefighters about the dangers of their job is personal.
“I've known so many people that have died of cancer. I mean, one of my good friends – Ed McDonagh – he died six weeks after his 49th birthday,” he said.
He says the worst part is that younger and younger firefighters continue to develop illnesses.
“Ten years past, you’d hear about firefighters getting cancer when they’re in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Today, you hear about firefighters getting cancer in their 20s, 30s and 40s,” Leeb explains.
Why is this happening?
“What’s burning in the house is different today than it was in the 1950s, when it was all natural-based fibers,” Leeb explains. “Now a lot of stuff is petroleum-based products, there are a lot of plastics that are burning. So it's very different.”
The FDNY deputy chief even tracked down research that confirms a connection between the new building methods and the firefighters' cancers.
“These studies link firefighting and the contaminants that we are exposed to, to occupational cancer,” he said.
Leeb notes that one study shows a higher rate of cancer for children of firefighters.
Thanks to Leeb’s work, the department is now looking to prevent the problem from getting worse and is coming up with new guidelines, regulations and strategies to minimize exposure to carcinogens.
The new motto within the FDNY is: “Clean is the new Salty.”
The department is trying to put more emphasis on decontaminating and regularly washing and swapping out of gear.
Leeb says they are working on on-scene decontamination as well, “So we don't cross contaminate and bring the contaminants back to the firehouse and into a car and then at home.”