Mark Rine was just 30 when he was diagnosed with deadly, stage 4 melanoma after his wife noticed a dark spot on his back. In the three years since, doctors have cut out some of the Columbus, Ohio, firefighter’s lymph nodes, treated him with chemotherapy and discovered inoperable cancerous tumors on his spine and lung.
“I fought a lot of fires. Abandoned homes, kitchen fires, car fires, dumpster fires,” Rine said. “That’s how I got this mother of all cancers.”
Had Rine been a firefighter in one of nearly three dozen other states, it might have been easier for him to receive disability benefits: Those states have laws that presume certain cancers are related to firefighters’ jobs and their exposure to toxic smoke and fumes. That means firefighters can become eligible for benefits without having to prove that their cancer was job-related. It would be up to a firefighter’s employer, usually a city or a county, to prove the cancer was in fact caused by something else.
A state senator, Republican Tom Patton, wants Ohio to join the ranks of states that offer such special protections to firefighters like Rine.
“We expect these men and women to run into burning buildings and save people’s lives and they do a marvelous job,” said Patton, who is sponsoring what’s known as a firefighter presumption bill. “They should have the presumption that their illness was caused by the fires they were fighting.”
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I've never heard of melanoma being caused by smoke.
ReplyDelete“They should have the presumption that their illness was caused by the fires they were fighting.”
ReplyDelete...wait, you want insurance companies to foot the bill, on presumption? There's worker's comp for a reason, but it needs to be verified, otherwise the system will be run amok.
I don't get it either , I can't see any proof that fire fighters are exposed to cancer risk. Now if they were fighting fires with AGENT ORANGE , maybe.
ReplyDeleteIdiots there are toxins in carpet fiber when burned. Formaldahyde in plywood. Aspestos in shigles. etc etc etc. 10 years from now the cops and fire fighters that breathed the toxic air of of Baltimore's Black Lives Matter Riots will have symptoms and diseases from the toxins.
ReplyDeleteKeep looking the other way just like you did with Vietnam Vets you liber losers.
All this should fall on the Insurance for those Professions not the Tax Payer. People should use Workmans Comp and OSHA. That is why Politians created these Departments and Laws. This shows just how stupid Politians are and how the Public is dumb to the facts.
ReplyDeleteSo, is there something in their SCUBA tanks besides air? When they go in, they are REQUIRED to suit up.
ReplyDeleteNo effing way.
Do stupid things, win stupid prizes!
All fire departments should cease operations. Let people take personal responsibility for their property and belongings. No more hazard or fire insurance with out fire protection. No more loans on property that is secured by buildings. Pay cash or rent.
ReplyDeleteGood to see most people agree Not to give firefighters special treatment. You pick that professional, you accept the hazards that come with it. Just like first responders of 911 getting life time health insurance, WHY? Everyone wants to throw it back on the government. Work for a living, pay for your insurance and deal with it.
ReplyDelete