Firefighter’s death fuels cancer fight

The United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg is mourning the loss of Winnipeg firefighter Darrel Maynard while continuing its work to raise awareness of occupational cancer and improve health protections for firefighters.

Maynard, a senior firefighter II and acting lieutenant with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, died Aug. 5 at age 41 after a three-year battle with occupational cancer.

He served Winnipeg for nearly two decades and leaves behind his wife Francine and sons Colin and Christian.

“Darrel was an incredible, incredible person, an incredible firefighter, and really, really special to all of us,” said Nick Kasper, president of UFFW.

“Our thoughts are first and foremost with his family, his friends and his loved ones as they navigate this devastation.”

Kasper said Maynard’s death has been attributed to his workplace and the union received formal notification this week that his cancer was covered under the presumptive provisions of Manitoba’s Workers’ Compensation Act.

The act covers 19 types of cancer for eligible firefighters, meaning they generally do not have to establish that their work caused the cancer in order to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits.

“While workers are sick and fighting to recover or fighting to survive, or the families are going through the most tragic time, having that presumptive coverage and recognition of cause of death offers support to them during those times,” Kasper said.

“It means they don’t need to be fighting two fights at once and trying to have that coverage provided.”

In 2002, Manitoba became the first province in Canada to introduce presumptive cancer legislation for firefighters.

However, Kasper says the protections have not kept pace with those in other jurisdictions, pointing to British Columbia, which has 28 presumptive protections, including coverage for 26 types of cancer.

He also said Manitoba has longer latency-period requirements than other provinces, meaning firefighters may have to have worked for a longer period before certain cancers qualify.

Occupational cancer is a major issue among Manitoba firefighters. The union’s memorial wall near the Manitoba legislature contains more than 130 names of firefighters who died in the line of duty, Kasper said, with the “vast majority” of those deaths attributed to occupational cancer.

“Cancer is the number one killer,” he said.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, has classified firefighters’ occupational exposure as carcinogenic to humans, placing it in its Group 1 category.

“This year the Workers’ Compensation Act is open for amendment and we’re working with our partners and provincial government to reposition ourselves as leaders in Canada,” Kasper said.

Manitoba Labour and Immigration Minister Malaya Marcelino said the government has met with UFFW to discuss its concerns and suggestions.

“Our government will do whatever we can to continue to support workers’ safety across our province,” Marcelino said in a statement. “Any Manitoban that puts their life on the line to protect their province deserves that same protection from their government and we are committed to making sure that happens.”

Marcelino also offered condolences to Maynard’s family, friends and colleagues, calling him “a man who made our province a safer place every single day.”

Kasper said the union recently brought in the International Association of Fire Fighters’ chief medical officer, Dr. Dan Wu, and Neil McMillan of the association’s medical assistance program to present evidence to the Manitoba government.

“We’re confident in the position and we look forward to doing that work as quickly as possible,” he said.

He said firefighters are exposed to products of combustion while fighting fires as well as diesel particulate matter from trucks and tools. He also said some protective equipment contains PFAS, a group of chemicals that has been linked to cancer and other health effects.

The union is working to reduce firefighters’ exposure to those substances, including advocating internationally for manufacturers to remove PFAS chemicals from protective gear.

“You remove one chemical type and perhaps it gets replaced by another,” Kasper said. “We want to make sure that the equipment we’re getting is safe to be used.”

UFFW has developed a comprehensive health-screening program that allows members to be screened annually, he said. The program is meant to identify potential diagnoses as early as possible and provide firefighters with faster access to treatment.

“This is a devastating loss. It’s an incredibly hard time for Darrel’s family, his close personal friends and his second family, and that’s his firefighting family,” Kasper said.

“Part of honouring his memory is working to ensure that others don’t suffer the same fate and that’s what we’re committed to.”

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to support Maynard’s family.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-memory-of-darrel-maynard

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca