New initiatives roll out from NC Firefighter Cancer Alliance

CHARLOTTE — The North Carolina Firefighter Cancer Alliance (NCFCA) has announced three new initiatives to bring awareness to cancer in firefighters.

The programs were revealed at the NC Mid-Winter Chiefs’ Conference at the Concord Convention Center on Feb. 2. The new initiatives include a new grant program for cancer screening, enhanced emotional support for firefighters diagnosed with cancer, and a resource information tool kit.

The Blue Ridge Firefighter Wellness Grant was founded in honor of several fire departments in the Western part of the state who have been hit hard by the occupational cancer epidemic. Departments like Asheville Fire have lost four active-duty firefighters in the last five years along with several others who passed away early in their retirements.

Concord Fire Marshal and NCFCA Director Travis McGaha, referred to fire service as a brotherhood and noted the ripple effect felt by multiple departments when one of their own falls.

“The fire service is a brotherhood,” said McGaha, “When one firefighter suffers, we all suffer. Seeing our brothers and sisters in the mountains hurting spurred us to create this fund in their honor.”

The grant honors the western regional Line of Duty Deaths, but all state departments are welcome to apply to offset the costs of cancer screening. An Asheville firefighter will be running for 24 hours straight in the spring to raise money for the new grant, other N.C. firefighters will join him to honor those who lost their lives.

The Alliance announced a new collaboration with the First Responder Peer Support Network (FRPSN) giving state firefighters access to qualified peer support who have had their own personal experience with cancer. This will help the alliance provide support not only to the firefighter but to their families and departments as well, with a 24-hour FRPSN crisis hotline.

The final initiative introduced was the Resource Information Toolkit (RIT) Pack, a thumb drive filled with resources for those who have just received a cancer diagnosis.

“The first 24 hours after a cancer diagnosis can feel like a hurricane, where a firefighter’s brain spins with questions about what to do next,” McGaha said. “We have cancer survivors on our Board who told us exactly what a firefighter needs to know immediately upon hearing the words, ‘You have cancer.’”

The toolkit includes information on how to apply for the state’s supplemental insurance program and emotional support resources.

For more information about NCFCA and its resources, please click here.

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