Volunteer firefighters in Alberta will now be treated the same as their full-time counterparts when it comes to cancer claims with the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB).
Employment and Immigration Minister Thomas Lukaszuk and Municipal Affairs Minister Hector Goudreau made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon, extending a presumptive coverage requirement to volunteers that full-time firefighters already receive.
Under the regulation, if a firefighter is diagnosed with one of 20 types of cancer and can show a certain number of years of service, their cancer will automatically be considered work-related.
Those cancers include; brain, bladder, testicular and prostate cancer, as well as lung cancer in non-smokers and leukemia.
In a statement, Lukaszuk said it was part of the government’s ongoing commitment to emergency workers.
“Bill 20 reflects our ongoing commitment to the brave men and women who put their lives on the line, so we can enjoy ours.”
Morinville fire Chief Ron Cust said the announcement is great news for volunteer firefighters who are facing a big risk.
“They are recognizing volunteers are attending and dealing with a call volume similar to some of the smaller cities,” he said. “Our people are exposed to the same sorts of toxic fumes and other things as the career people.”
He said because volunteers often need to travel further to calls, the fires they face might be burning more intensely, raising the risk of toxic exposure.
“By the time it is free-burning, the fumes or the gases that are being created from all the man-made products are already fully burned and are creating gases that are in a toxic state.”
Cust said the Morinville department already carries WCB coverage as well as further insurance because of this risk and it will be nice to have even more protection for firefighters.
He added the department keeps records on who is exposed to fires and what they encounter and makes sure equipment is professionally washed on a regular basis to limit the risks.
“We won’t allow them to go for weeks or months wearing the same toxic stuff. We make sure they get cleaned on a regular basis.”
He said the protections Morinville employs are not standard in all volunteer departments across the province, which makes it even more important to have the coverage.
