A member of the Phoenix Fire Department has died after battling occupational cancer for more than a decade.
Firefighter Dave Mathis passed away peacefully in hospice Tuesday, following his battle with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma — a battle he was fighting since 2007.
According to the Phoenix Fire Department, Mathis was one of the first members assisted by the Local 493 Cancer Support Program, and among the first to get his cancer approved under the original 2001 Cancer Presumptive law. He was granted one of the first Accidental Disability Retirement awards for cancer in November 2008.?
Glendale Fire Department tweeted Thursday, extending condolences to the Phoenix department.