By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
Mayor Dorinda Borer on Jan. 15 joined state Comptroller Sean Scanlon, Treasurer Erick Russell and Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner Ronnell Higgins for a news conference spotlighting Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month.
Scanlon called the news conference to increase public understanding of occupational cancer in the fire service while equipping firefighters with the information and tools they need to reduce risk.
According to the International Association of Fire Fighters, occupational cancer has surpassed heart disease as the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths among firefighters. In 2025 alone, nearly 80% of the names added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland, were IAFF members who lost their lives to the disease.
“Our firefighters face carcinogens every single day, not just from the smoke they breathe but from the very gear meant to protect them and the legacy foams used for decades,” said Borer, who opened the announcement at the City of West Haven Fire Department Allingtown’s Minor Park Station.
To tackle occupational cancer, Scanlon worked with fire service members and union representatives in April 2025 to offer comprehensive screenings to all firefighters on the state health plan. He also worked with vendor United Diagnostic Services to obtain a discounted rate for municipalities not participating in the plan.
Scanlon, whose grandfather was a New Haven firefighter, provided an update on the screening program, pointing out that Connecticut is one of the few states providing health screenings.
He also highlighted West Haven’s technology to remove chemical exposure from firefighter uniforms.
Allingtown Chief Michael R. Terenzio spoke about the department’s new heavy-duty washer.
Terenzio said the state-of-the-art washer is designed to clean and extract toxic carcinogenic and other types of contaminants from gear. The washer and an associated dryer were paid for by American Rescue Plan Act funds, he said.
The news conference was attended by West Haven Fire Department Chief James P. O’Brien, West Shore Fire Department Chief Rafael Zayas and commissioners from the city’s three fire departments.
Russell shared progress on the state’s Firefighters Cancer Relief Program, which is overseen by his office.
Thanks to recent legislation, Russell said skin cancer is now covered under the program, including free full-body cancer screenings every two years.
“To our firefighters: You’ve always had our backs,” Borer said. “Now it’s our job to have yours.”
Higgins and West Haven state Reps. Bill Heffernan, a retired city firefighter, and Treneé McGee followed by delivering remarks praising Connecticut’s smoke eaters.
“Firefighters answer the call and lead the way each and every day,” Higgins said.
Allingtown Deputy Chief Keith T. Flood and West Haven firefighters Brendan Carew and Mike Alfano then shared personal stories of overcoming occupational health challenges, a testament to the screenings’ success.
The late-morning announcement included remarks by North Haven Fire Chief Paul Januszewski, the president of the Connecticut Career Fire Chiefs Association, who represented the Joint Council of Connecticut Fire Service Organizations, a coalition of fire service groups — career, volunteer, labor, management — that acts as a unified voice for the state’s firefighters.
Also speaking were President Peter Brown of the Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters Association of Connecticut, the state’s major firefighter union, and Vice President Chris Albani of the Connecticut Police & Fire Union, which represents about 950 police, fire and public safety personnel statewide.
The news conference concluded with remarks by Bridgeport state Sen. Herron Keyon Gaston, who chairs the General Assembly’s Public Safety Committee, which oversees all matters relating to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.