Post by district5 on May 15, 2010 9:57:21 GMT -5
WLWT.com
Firefighters Say Job Made Them Sick
Several Suffer From Effects Of Queen City Barrel Fire
Written By: Amy Wagner
POSTED: 4:33 pm EDT May 14, 2010
UPDATED: 11:32 pm EDT May 14, 2010
CINCINNATI -- When Cincinnati firefighters stood vigil over the embers of the Queen City Barrel fire in 2004, they focused on keeping the fumes from barrels of chemicals that were burning from reaching residents in Price Hill. They said they never considered how it could affect their health.
"With Queen City Barrel, a lot of my friends would say, 'Why didn't you just let that burn?' Well, Queen City Barrel sits at the foot of Price Hill. If those fumes go to Price Hill, thousands and thousands of people would be affected," said Fire Capt. Thomas Thomas.
Six years later, several firefighters said they are all dealing with a rare condition.
"One of the issues, now, we're dealing with is neurological issues, and typically neurological issues are from exposures to chemicals," said Marc Monahan, president of the firefighters union.
"They call it a motor neuron disease. That ultimately is Lou Gehrig's disease," said one firefighter, who asked not to be identified for fear of losing his job. He said he spent at least two days at the scene of the Queen City Barrel fire.
"Solvent exposure has been associated with neurological abnormalities, particularly if you have a heavy long-term solvent exposure," said Dr. James Lockey, a professor of environmental health at the University of Cincinnati.
Several others are also having neurological and respiratory issues. And there's fear more could be suffering from it.
"We still don't have a handle on how many people have it, they're not going to all come forward," said Monahan.
And this isn't the first time firefighters fear a fire may be causing them to get sick. Nearly a dozen firefighters who fought the Gray Road Landfill fire in December 1988 either have cancer or have died from it. Thomas is one of them.
"I had a sharp pain in my leg. I went to the hospital, and within five hours, they told me I have cancer," Thomas said.
Miles Davis Sr. started working for the Cincinnati Fire Department about a month before the landfill started to burn.
"I was relatively new on the fire department back then, so I was one of the guys who had to rake the garbage when they found the hot spot," Davis said.
Davis said he feels he still battles the effects of that fire. "Prostate cancer. July 11, 2003, is when I was diagnosed," he said.
Lockey said certain types of cancer are more common in firefighters, likely due to what they're exposed to.
"Potential exposures include formaldehyde, benzene, asbestos, various types of heavy metals, soot, which can get on your skin, as well as in your lungs," Lockey said.
Firefighters do have respirators, but because they're so cumbersome, they're usually worn only while fighting actual flames or in thick smoke.
"You have all of that smoke around you, you're exposed to it, but you're just not thinking it's something that's going to manifest itself like this," said Davis
No direct link has been found between these fires and the illnesses. However, firefighters still believe they're battling these fires years later with their health.
"It's like a ticking time bomb for me. When it may explode, I don't know. But right now it's still ticking. I'm still living," said Davis.
And while he's convinced his cancer came from his job, Thomas said he wouldn't change a thing.
"I'd sign up again tomorrow," he said.
Firefighters Say Job Made Them Sick
Several Suffer From Effects Of Queen City Barrel Fire
Written By: Amy Wagner
POSTED: 4:33 pm EDT May 14, 2010
UPDATED: 11:32 pm EDT May 14, 2010
CINCINNATI -- When Cincinnati firefighters stood vigil over the embers of the Queen City Barrel fire in 2004, they focused on keeping the fumes from barrels of chemicals that were burning from reaching residents in Price Hill. They said they never considered how it could affect their health.
"With Queen City Barrel, a lot of my friends would say, 'Why didn't you just let that burn?' Well, Queen City Barrel sits at the foot of Price Hill. If those fumes go to Price Hill, thousands and thousands of people would be affected," said Fire Capt. Thomas Thomas.
Six years later, several firefighters said they are all dealing with a rare condition.
"One of the issues, now, we're dealing with is neurological issues, and typically neurological issues are from exposures to chemicals," said Marc Monahan, president of the firefighters union.
"They call it a motor neuron disease. That ultimately is Lou Gehrig's disease," said one firefighter, who asked not to be identified for fear of losing his job. He said he spent at least two days at the scene of the Queen City Barrel fire.
"Solvent exposure has been associated with neurological abnormalities, particularly if you have a heavy long-term solvent exposure," said Dr. James Lockey, a professor of environmental health at the University of Cincinnati.
Several others are also having neurological and respiratory issues. And there's fear more could be suffering from it.
"We still don't have a handle on how many people have it, they're not going to all come forward," said Monahan.
And this isn't the first time firefighters fear a fire may be causing them to get sick. Nearly a dozen firefighters who fought the Gray Road Landfill fire in December 1988 either have cancer or have died from it. Thomas is one of them.
"I had a sharp pain in my leg. I went to the hospital, and within five hours, they told me I have cancer," Thomas said.
Miles Davis Sr. started working for the Cincinnati Fire Department about a month before the landfill started to burn.
"I was relatively new on the fire department back then, so I was one of the guys who had to rake the garbage when they found the hot spot," Davis said.
Davis said he feels he still battles the effects of that fire. "Prostate cancer. July 11, 2003, is when I was diagnosed," he said.
Lockey said certain types of cancer are more common in firefighters, likely due to what they're exposed to.
"Potential exposures include formaldehyde, benzene, asbestos, various types of heavy metals, soot, which can get on your skin, as well as in your lungs," Lockey said.
Firefighters do have respirators, but because they're so cumbersome, they're usually worn only while fighting actual flames or in thick smoke.
"You have all of that smoke around you, you're exposed to it, but you're just not thinking it's something that's going to manifest itself like this," said Davis
No direct link has been found between these fires and the illnesses. However, firefighters still believe they're battling these fires years later with their health.
"It's like a ticking time bomb for me. When it may explode, I don't know. But right now it's still ticking. I'm still living," said Davis.
And while he's convinced his cancer came from his job, Thomas said he wouldn't change a thing.
"I'd sign up again tomorrow," he said.