Almost 70% of the firefighters in our country are volunteers, according to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) records. Even though public safety heavily relies on the service of volunteer firefighters, they have not been included in Cancer Presumption Laws in more than half of the states in the U.S.

Cancer Presumption Laws recognize firefighters' cancerous condition as a job-related illness and affirm their eligibility to receive some form of compensation or disability benefit. However, in most states, including New Mexico, the law specifies that only employed firefighters' applications for support are accepted.

Such differentiating and discriminatory policies are not grounded. Most volunteer firefighters do the same tasks, dedicate as many hours, and are exposed to the same hazards as employed firefighters. They must prioritize emergency calls, even if they have another paid job or other personal commitments. Firefighting comes with many health risks, such as heat stress and associated cardiovascular disease, accidents, and exposure to various toxic chemicals. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are one of the most hazardous substances posing great danger to firefighter's health, as they can be found in high concentrations in aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), a firefighting foam firefighters regularly work with, and their turnout gear.

The toxic PFAS: what does exposure mean for New Mexico's firefighters?

AFFF is a Class-B firefighting foam widely used since the 1960s by military and civil firefighters, as it is the most effective foam on the market against fuel and other flammable liquid fires. However, AFFF is exceptionally toxic due to its PFAS components, which make it an efficient surfactant. PFAS is among the environmental hazards causing the most concern in the past years across the U.S. They are water-soluble, highly mobile and persistent, remain in the environment for an unknown period, and accumulate in living organisms. Long-term exposure to PFAS causes severe diseases such as decreased fertility, weakened immune systems, changes in liver enzymes, and increases in cholesterol levels. Exposure to PFOA and PFOS, the two most studied types of PFAS, was linked to various types of cancers, such as testicular, ovarian, and kidney.

New Mexico does not have any regulations in place regarding the use of aqueous film forming foam. In the lack of a trusted fluorine-free alternative, AFFF can still be applied in fire emergency and fire prevention situations and can be used for testing in a testing facility. This means New Mexico's firefighters are regularly and inevitably exposed to PFAS, not only by being in direct contact with the foam but also by working in a PFAS-contaminated environment, breathing it in, and drinking PFAS-polluted water.

According to the statistics, New Mexico is home to 248 registered fire departments, from which an average number of over 200 are volunteers. This means that more than 80% of New Mexico's firefighters are volunteers working with carcinogenic substances for years, who do not receive any compensation or disability benefit in case they develop cancer due to toxic exposure while on duty.

The risk of getting sick of cancer is real. A medical study published in 2023 demonstrates that skin, prostate, testicular, brain, nervous system, rectal cancers, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma are significantly higher among firefighters than among the general population. Another study published in 2020 by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, showed an elevated mortality rate from all cancers among firefighters, while a public health study from 2021, focusing exclusively on volunteer firefighters' PFAS exposure, concluded that they have higher PFAS levels in their organisms compared to the general population.

Cancer is among the leading causes of death for firefighters. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to state that all firefighters in New Mexico and elsewhere put their lives on the line every day and that among the many dangers, toxic chemicals are at the top of the list, even though they manifest unexpectedly throughout the years.

Cancer does not differentiate between volunteers or employed staff. Fighting cancer requires a lot of strength and has substantial financial implications most people are hardly able to cover without support. On what basis do state officials then decide who may receive occupational disease disability benefits when there is evidence that all firefighters are more prone to developing and dying of cancer than the average citizen due to the dangerous conditions of their job? Volunteer firefighters put their lives in danger for the public good, and it is time for them to receive the same treatment as career firefighters.

About the Author:
Jonathan Sharp is a Chief Financial Officer at the Environmental Litigation Group, P.C., based in Birmingham, Alabama. The firm offers assistance to victims of toxic exposure, primarily civilian and military firefighters. Jonathan is mainly responsible for case evaluation, financial analysis, and asset management.