GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Firefighters put their lives on the line to save others, often exposing themselves to toxic chemicals. A grant for health screenings not covered by their insurance benefits our Grand Rapids firefighters.
“We've ended up with just about 200 firefighters being screened,” Grand Rapids Fire Department (GRFD) equipment operator Kristy Shepard said.
Battalion Chief Matt Keusch is one of them. He understands the benefit of having access to these critical health screens.
“Hopefully, we don't find anything, but we'll see what happens. At least we're taking a proactive approach, and hopefully, if we do find something, we'll catch it early,” Keusch said.
The firefighters' insurance does not cover these tests. These scans cost $300 each. Thanks to the federal grant, local fire unions, and the GRFD Prevention Foundation, it was all free.
“The risk of the job gives us all a more increased chance of getting cancer,” Shepard said.
The United States Fire Administration shows that firefighters face a 9% higher risk of developing cancer. Also, the USFA shows firefighters have a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer.
“One of the other things is, so much of the fire research is done on men, so there isn't a whole lot of cancer studies on women in the fire service,” Battalion Chief Kathy Thompson said.
Even with routine checkups, these additional screenings are important for firefighters.
“I work hard, exercise daily, I try to eat well, I go to the doctor, and they found multiple problems with me. I got a lump on my thyroid that we didn't know I had. They found a couple of lumps in reproductive organs, but the most important is they found that I may have a partially blocked kidney,” Thompson added.
Battalion Chief Thompson was once the wellness chief for the fire department. When she started this grant process years ago, she never thought she would be the one finding potential health issues. She adds she’s grateful she had access to these tests.
“If it wasn't for this screening, I could be living with something that could be growing or eating away at me, and I might not even know about it,” Thompson said. “So I'm thankful for me. I'm thankful for any of the other firefighters that they may have find issues with so we can all hopefully get it fixed.”
Not every current Grand Rapids firefighter chose to take advantage of these screenings. Instead, some retirees were allowed to take their place.
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