Noah McCrory
Inside Fire Station 22 in Bellbrook, Ohio, Lt. Jay Leach helped remove buckets of firefighting foam known as aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) – an undeniably effective tool for suppressing and smothering fires, but also associated with PFAS, or so-called “forever chemicals,” which are now linked to several types of cancer.
“Most firefighters who take on this job know the inherent risks, but we never know that the equipment we use is killing us,” Leach said.
Cancer was the cause of 72% of active-duty firefighter deaths last year, according to the International Association of Firefighters. A separate study showed that smoke inhalation causes only 4% of active-duty firefighter deaths.
For Leach, the pain of cancer has no limits.
His wife, Tracy, was a firefighter for 25 years. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017 despite having no family history of cancer.
“It pretty much devastated her body,” Leach said. “And then in December 2022, she was diagnosed as terminal and two weeks later, on Christmas Eve, she died.”
Leach now carries a photo of Tracy with him in his firefighter helmet whenever he goes out to answer a call. While he can’t conclusively prove that PFAS in firefighting foam were the cause of his wife’s cancer, Leach said he believes “with all my heart” that they were the source.
In a statement, the American Chemistry Council, an industry group of chemical companies, said it supports limitations on the use of AFFF, but added: “All PFAS are not created equal. It is not scientifically accurate or appropriate to group them together when considering safety risks.” “
For Leach, delivering buckets of AFFF for destruction was cathartic.
There is now safer foam, but tens of thousands of gallons of AFFF are still sitting in fire stations across America. Thirty-four states have introduced policies to ban or limit the use of AFFF, and Ohio is the first state committed to destroying it all.
But the risk of PFAS doesn’t just come from AFFF. The chemicals have been inside other firefighting equipment for decades. PFAS help repel water and contaminants, but donning the gear means wrapping yourself in suspected carcinogens.
“We sweat, our pores open, and chemicals can enter our body for good,” Leach said.
He told CBS News that after 19 years of work, he is much more afraid of cancer than fires.
“I love the work, but at the end of the day I sit down and think, ‘Is it worth it?'”
Mark Strassmann
