Ohio is one of the sixteen states to not have a law relating fighting fires with cancer.

As if fighting the fires wasn’t enough danger, the people who risk their lives to save others have a very high risk of developing certain types of cancers later on in life. The cancers firemen are at risk for and are mostly covered for include digestive, oral, urinary, and respiratory cancers. But they are also at risk for certain brain cancers, which are not covered.

Because of these laws, if a firefighter develops a cancer that is not covered before his or her retirement, they will still have to work until they reach retirement in order to receive benefits for the future. But sadly, no medical bills from those cancer treatments are covered.

Local training fireman and EMT student Steven Drop believes that any type of cancer should be covered. “All types of cancers should be covered by insurance companies because firefighter’s risk their lives day and night for people they don’t even know and put other people’s lives before their own,” Drop said.

The reason for certain cancers not to be covered is because of how much money it is. Citizens would have to pay some tax money in order to keep the firefighters covered by all cancers.

Drop said, “For the firefighter’s risking so much for the community, their tax dollars should be used properly to cover not just some types of cancers and medical problems but all. Yes the health benefits now are great but in some cases, some things are not covered that I believe should be.”

Those who are still trying to help firefighters get covered for the cancers they are currently not covered for are sadly struggling to do so. But with support from more people, they may be able to succeed sooner.