For the hundreds of firefighters from around the region who went to the funeral of a 41-year-old Westport firefighter on Dec. 1, it was a stark reminder that the fire service can carry health risks beyond the hazards of putting out fires.
Turk Aksoy, a 13-year veteran of the Westport Fire Department, died last month of a particularly aggressive form of colon cancer, one that colleagues said was due in large part to his work in the firefighting field.
“Turk was an active firefighter for many years before his diagnosis. And he had done quite a bit of training,” said Dan Mascolo, who was a friend of Aksoy’s and is the union representative of Local 1081 in Westport. “All these things combined, the cancer, it originated from the job.”
Firefighters have a unique level of exposure to carcinogens.