When Deborah Gaudet and Sheila Wanner joined the fire service in the 1990s, neither of them thought their career could cause cancer. But it did. Wanner, a retired Newport News master firefighter-medic, and Gaudet, fire department safety officer in Virginia Beach, were part of a regional information session held in Newport News Monday to bring awareness to the problem.
Cancer has been a growing concern for fire departments in recent years as more data has confirmed that repetitive exposure to carcinogens at fire scenes is causing cancer among firefighters, officials said. The information has prompted a regional approach to look for ways to prevent it.
While the gear they wear has limitations, changes to practices can do a lot to help, officials said. Both women said they would have done more to protect themselves had they known better.
"You didn't know about the dangers (back then)," Wanner said. Firefighting gear has improved over the years, but the environments they are exposed to are more hazardous. Homes and furnishings contain more plastic and foam materials, which emit carcinogens when they burn, Newport News Battalion Chief Stephen Pincus said.