Money flowing from new NC program to help firefighters with cancer

The state has begun making payments out of a new $15 million fund meant to help firefighters who have developed cancer.

New diagnoses qualify for an immediate $25,000 lump sum payment, followed by up to $12,000 in reimbursements to cover out-of-pocket medical expenses. Firefighters also qualify for monthly disability pay under the program, which was created in a state budget signed at the end of last year.

"For me it's been a wonderful gift to be able to not have to worry about how and where I'm going to pay for my medical expenses," said Henderson Fire Department Chief Steve Cordell, who has had two brain tumors removed.

Cordell and other firefighters gathered in Raleigh Thursday for the South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo. Gov. Roy Cooper spoke at the event, and he was presented with a helmet shield for signing the state budget that included funding for the pilot program last year.

For years, North Carolina firefighters sought changes to the state's workers' compensation program that would make it easier to get paid for cancers developed in the line of duty. Those changes repeatedly were blocked, but last year the legislature agreed to direct payments for numerous types of cancer, based on a presumption that the disease developed from exposure to hazardous chemicals and conditions.

"Firefighters are more exposed," Cooper told the expo. "You guys keep us safe. We need to be there for you when times are bad, and when cancer strikes a family."

Jackie Ireland heads up the Volunteer Firemen's Insurance Service, which manages the program. He said the North Carolina Firefighter Cancer Benefit Program has handled about 60 claims since it rolled out in January.

"It's just a blessing to firefighters," he said. "So many firefighters now find they have cancer."

For years, WRAL Investigates has reported on the rising rate of cancer among firefighters, which studies link to the various hazards and exposures of the profession. Some of the firefighters who spoke to WRAL Investigates have died since the series began, and cancer deaths are more common in the profession than deaths from fire.

In 2016, 70% of firefighters who died nationally in the line of duty died from cancer, WRAL News has reported.

The new program only covers diagnoses since January, but it gives North Carolina the strongest program of its type in the country, Ireland said. No others "even come close," he said.

In his remarks at Thursday's expo, Cooper said that before he was governor, one of his daughters had an asthma attack and firefighters responded within minutes.

"You guys were there, on the job. Saved her life," Cooper said. "I am deeply grateful ... for the risks you take."