Firefighters train for the dangers they may encounter on the job, but some of those dangers can follow them home long after the fire is out.
That’s part of the reason firefighters in Litchfield County came together Saturday for a cancer screening program built specifically for them.
Pleasant Valley Fire Chief Jim Shanley is one of the driving forces behind the Litchfield County Firefighters Cancer Support Group and its annual screening event.
“Three of us had cancer, and we reached out to each other, said, ‘hey, can we get together?” Shanley said. “Because cancer is not just some medical events and emotional events or financial events or legal events.”
Now in its second year, the event screens firefighters for various types of cancer and other health conditions.
Cancer screenings themselves are nothing new, but organizers say holding one specifically for firefighters is.
“Depending on what type of fire we’re fighting, we’re being exposed to different types of, actual chemicals,” said Sean Delaney, chief of Water Witch Hose Company No. 2.
Delaney said the Litchfield County program is the first of its kind in the country.
“We are the first county in the nation to actually do cancer screening like this,” Delaney said. “And the question is why.”
Fifty firefighters were screened Saturday at the Litchfield County Regional Fire School with help from nurses and doctors with Hartford HealthCare’s Cancer Center.
Other volunteers also helped throughout the day, including firefighters from departments around the state.
For Winchester Center Volunteer Fire Department Chief Peter Marchand Sr., coming back to help was personal. He was on the other side of the screening process when the program launched last year.
“I went through this program last year, which was their first year. I was one of the participants,” Marchand said. “Very thorough screening. Fortunately, it was a very good experience. No problem.”
But organizers say 50 screenings represent just a fraction of the roughly 14,000 firefighters across Connecticut.
They hope support from lawmakers and the community can eventually help programs like this reach more firefighters across the state and, eventually, inspire similar screenings around the country.
“When we send our firefighters into danger, we tell them we have their backs,” Delaney said. “We owe them the same promise when the danger follows them home.”
