Hamilton firefighters claiming cancer at twice provincial rate

Provincial data shows firefighters in Hamilton are filing work-related cancer claimsat twice the Ontario-widerate.

But 10 years afterlegislationwas introducedto make it easier for them to get compensation,there are stillhundredswho have to fightto get their illness recognized.

According to data provided by Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, for every 100,000 people in Hamilton, 22 firefighters were considered for work-related cancer benefits under the board's presumptive legislation.

We're exposed to so much every day. And before we had masks, we used todrink up the smoke.- Ken Cole, retired firefighter battling cancer

That's double the provincial per capita rate of 11 per 100,000 people in Ontario.

A more direct comparison to similar medium-sized cities also shows Hamilton claims at a high rate:
Ottawa's rate is 10 per 100,000 whileMississauga's is seven.

Fuelled by the fears arising from the 1997 toxic chemical fire at Plastimet,Hamilton firefighters were instrumental in the push for the 2007 legislation that madeit easier for firefighters in Ontario to claim work-related cancers.

While Hamilton's high claim rate may be a result of fighting toxic fires likePlastimet in the heavily industrialized city, it may also be a result of effortsbyHamilton's firefighter union local, which, because of that history,has beenproactive in both detecting and claiming its work-related cancers.

About 80 Hamilton firefighters and former firefighters have hadWSIBcancer claims accepted.

The new legislation was supposed to simplify and clarify the claims process, but the reality is many claims considered by the WSIB are rejected, and there are many cancers that appear to be work-related that the board won't even consider forreview.

The result is 10 years afterfirefighters won the right to compensationfor their cancers,hundredsin the city stillaren't getting it.

"The majority of our claims still aren't accepted," said Dan Santoli, the WSIB compensation representative for the Hamilton Professional Firefighters Association, Local 288.

'A new normal'

More than 60 years ago, Ken Cole started a lifelong career saving homes, buildings, and businesses in Hamilton's industrial east end. He was a dedicated firefighter for almost three decades.

Cole fought firesinsteel,rubber, plasticandchemical plants.

"You'd come out [of a factory] and your nose would be running, you'd be coughing and spluttering, your eyes would be running" said Cole.

"In those places, all of our equipment had to be destroyed, you couldn't clean it."

Just afew weeks ago, Cole was diagnosed with bladder cancer and has filed a claim with the WSIB.

You never think it will happen to you that's what they say about cancer. But Cole says he knew very well it could.

"We're exposed to so much every day," he said. "And before we had masks, we used todrink up the smoke."

Cole says battling cancer has become a new normal for retirees of the Hamilton force.

"I would say there's probably 18of us in the past two yearsthat have passed away from cancer," he said.

Nineteenth-century industrialization created new dangers for firefighters and Hamilton's rise as a major industrial hub likely put its firefighters at an increased risk of exposure.

"We're the industrial heartland of the country," said Dr. Mike Pysklywec, a physician and occupational health expert in Hamilton.

Screening program

Dr. Pysklywec is part of a group of physicians whorun Hamilton's occupational health screening program for firefighters. He says repeated exposure to things like burning plastic, heavy metals and asbestos can add up.

"There's potential for a lot of carcinogens to be released when all these materials are heated," said Dr. Pysklywec.

In July of 1997, almost 300 Hamilton firefighters were deployed to the four-day Plastimet fire, and most were there fordays in a row.Many firefighters suffered both short and long-term health effects in its wake.

"Once we realized what was burning, there was a lot of concern about what we were exposed to," said Rob D'Amico, a firefighter deployed to Plastimet.

According to Dr.Pysklywec, it often takes15 to 20 years for cancer to develop from that kind of exposure, sothere's a good chance someof the cancers surfacingnow are linked to that fire.

"It was aplastic-based industry witha lot of potential exposures. I'm sure that's contributing," he said.

But alot was also learnedfrom the Plastimet fire. Awareness increased, and thecity starteda screening program tocatch cancers and other illnesses that might otherwise go unnoticed. Nowadays, firefighters in Hamiltontalk about cancer more, they know the dangers they face, and their union makes it easyto file claimsif they're diagnosed.

Fight continues, 10 years afterQueen's Park victory

Plastimet was also a catalyst for the 2007 legislation. Twenty years ago, it was relatively rare for firefighters with cancer to win compensation for their illness in Ontario. Prior to Plastimet, evidence already showedfirefighters were at an increased risk of many different types of cancer.

Those concerns finally made their wayto Queen's Park after Plastimet.

In 2007, inspired in part by the death ofBob Shaw, aPlastimetfirst responder who died of cancer,the government acted. Now, if a firefighter is diagnosed with one of the board's approved cancers and meets the specific criteria, the disease is presumed to be caused by the nature of their job.

It's still difficult, but we're moving in the right direction.- Dan Santoli,WSIB compensation repfor Hamilton firefighters

The legislation was hailed as a victory, but the union says it still leaves many unprotected.

According to data provided by the WSIB, 116 claims have been filed for work-related cancer by firefighters in Hamilton under thatpresumptive legislation, and 68 per centof those claims have been approved.

ButHamilton's union says the total number of claims they've filed is actually much higher.

According to their records, theunion has filed more than300 cancer claims, some dating back25 years, of which only 25 per cent were approved.

"Just last week we filed four new claims for retired firefighters," said Santoli.

He says the reason his numbers areso much higheris because the board numbers only cover cases that qualify for considerationunder its presumptive legislation buthe files cancer claimswhether they'relisted in the legislationor not.

"If there's evidence it was work-related, we file it," he said.

Dan Santoli

7 years ago

Duration 0:59

Dan Santoli is the WSIB compensation representative for the Hamilton Professional Firefighters Association, local 288.

Presumptive legislation doesn't guaranteeapproval

A year after the newlegislation came into effect, Hamilton firefighter Brad Phillips was diagnosed with bladder cancer. Phillips filed a claim to the WSIB.It was approved without issue.

But as doctors worked to remove the cancer from his bladder, they noticed he also had cancer in his kidney. So he went back for treatment.

It was a tough year, but I'm one of the lucky ones.- Brad Phillips, Hamilton firefighter

Phillips had been working as a firefighter for over 17 years when he was diagnosed just short of the 20-year minimum for kidney cancer to be considered presumptive so his WSIB claim for that cancer was denied.

"That year I think I went to 26 different doctor appointments" he said. "I remember them telling me [at work], try to schedule them on your days off so you don't miss work."

But as a two-time cancer survivor, he doesn't dwell on the way it played out.

"It was a tough year," he said. "But I'm one of the lucky ones."

Santoli says there is a misconception that all cancers under their umbrella name are considered presumptive. "That's really not the case," he said.

Brain cancer, for instance, isn't considered presumptive if it's in the stem of the brain likewise if a cancer starts somewhere else before it moves to a covered area.

Santoli says colon cancer, which is considered presumptive, has been particularly tricky to get approved.

"Over the past 25 years, we've filed 49 colon cancer claims, and close to 80 per cent of those have been denied," he said.

Santoli also files claims for cancers that aren't covered in hopes they may be able to win a tribunal hearing.

"A number of our members have died from pancreatic and liver cancers. There's evidence it was work-related, but it's very hard to win."

Both Santoli and the WSIB agree around 80 firefighters' cancer claims have been approved in Hamilton.

The WSIB declined to comment on the union's records as they could not see them.

More claims filed and approved sinceamendments

Since 2014, the WSIB'scoverageexpandedto include lung, breast, testicular, prostate and skin cancer, as well as multiple myeloma.

The volume of claims has more than doubled in Hamilton since the legislation expanded.

Under the original legislation, only 30 claims in Hamilton were approved. Since 2014,49 more have been approved.

"We were able to re-try a bunch of skin cancers that were denied before, many of those have now been approved," Santoli said.

"It's still difficult, but we're moving in the right direction."