Taking Care of Those Who Take Care of Us -- Let's Learn the Lessons of 9/11 First Responders

Taking Care of Those Who Take Care of Us -- Let's Learn the Lessons of 9/11 First Responders

I haven’t written anything for a while now. I kinda got the wind knocked out of my sails a while back with a diagnosis that I have cancer. Needless to say, it took me some time to wrap my head around it and begin to think about writing anything. Everything else seems so insignificant in comparison.

Unfortunately, it’s not something that’s all that unusual. Many people have gone through a diagnosis such as this and continued on with their lives with minimal impact. Some beat it and some don’t. It all depends on their individual cases. The one thing they all have in common is that when they’re facing a challenge like this they need to commit all their time and resources, both emotionally and financially, in a continued effort to defeat this hideous disease.

It’s important to those going through this fight to feel the support of friends and family. In that respect I am lucky. I have a loving and caring family and friends who will support me in any way I may need. This is very comforting to me. Part of the reason I have as much faith in my friends' ability and willingness to step up is that they’ve done so many, many times in recent memory to many other fellow firefighters who have battled cancer - much more frequently than the general public, by far. Some of my friends have beaten it and some have not. Of those members of my extended firefighting family currently fighting the fight, some of us will beat it and…

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The financial struggle of fighting any long term health problem is also a very real concern for those going through it. Nobody wants to be the one who drains all the finances from their family while fighting what could be a losing battle…especially firefighters. Firefighters have lived their lives being the one that friends, family and the general public turn to for help in emergencies. We lend aid, not seek aid. Cancer, however, is the great equalizer.

It just so happens that this past week a peripheral friend of mine died of cancer. His name was Captain Tom Kenney from the Hyannis Fire Department. He was a great firefighter who also served with the Massachusetts FEMA Urban Search & Rescue Team. With that team, he and his fellow members responded to Ground Zero about 5 hours after the planes hit the towers. He and I met about 20 years ago at a fire department seminar and joked about the coincidence of our names and ranks being the same. He retired last October, was diagnosed this past January and died last week. His funeral was today in Hyannis but I couldn’t make it.

Instead, I watched the news and saw an emotional Jon Stewart address a congressional hearing regarding a bill to extend health benefits for the treatment of people affected by WTC related illnesses that have been killing people and making others sick as a result of their exposure to toxins at the site. The largest groups are the firefighters and police officers who worked for months on the “pile” to bring their brothers home. There are many others who are in need of the protection of such a bill – steelworkers and other rescue personnel as well as those who lived and worked in the area. It is a damn shame that these people need to continue to beg Congress for continued support in fighting their medical issues!

Those of us who spend our working lives protecting others at the expense of our own long-term health ask only that we and our families are fairly taken care of in the event we lose our lives or become sick in the performance of our duties. Unfortunately, this is not the case. If there is not a written contract guaranteeing such benefits no government agency will step up and volunteer support, especially financially. There is a case in Pawtucket right now where a Fire Lieutenant lost his foot while attempting to save a woman from a burning window in her home a couple of weeks ago. He will lose his job as a result of his injury but he also may be disciplined and possibly terminated for acting out of the department’s standard operating procedures while performing the rescue attempt. Ask that woman and her family if this firefighter should be punished.

Also, since my diagnosis, I have become aware of many other Providence firefighters that have also been diagnosed with cancer recently. Some active and some retired. Those who are still active members have the presumption of the cancer being as a direct result of their firefighting careers. This will give them the health coverage and disability coverage (if necessary) to protect them and their families. This is a direct result of many years of fighting for this coverage to be added to our Collective Bargaining Agreement by our union.

Those of us who are already retired, such as myself, have no such protection agreement with the City. All future medical costs are the responsibility of the individual or his family. If I had been diagnosed within 3 years of my retirement date I could have requested a disability pension which would have required the City to take care of my medical costs in this fight. I wouldn’t be guaranteed to have it approved but at least it would afford me the chance. I was diagnosed after 3 years and 3 months…truly my luck.

I knew going into my firefighting career that I would have a much greater chance of serious injury or death on the job as opposed to the average profession. I knew that the chances of me contracting occupational cancer would be much higher than the general public. There is a general consensus that firefighters, on average, will lose about ten years of life due to the greater exposure to multiple toxins and carcinogens from the newer, mostly plastic materials in modern homes. I’m not complaining; I chose this profession. I’ll live with, or not, the consequences of my actions.

As I begin the long fight to recovery and the ultimate destruction of my cancer I complain only that those of us who risk lives and health for the protection of others are tossed aside by our governments when we walk away. Politicians are spineless animals. Whether they’re federal, state or local politicians, it makes no difference, they pander for votes and contributions. Dead or dying firefighters are not a big voting block.

I simply wish for a day when all Americans, politicians and citizens alike, can be counted on to do the right thing when there’s nothing in it for themselves. I’m not holding my breath!

Captain Tom Kenney is a retired member of the Providence Fire Department.