When Rob Gibbs began volunteering as a firefighter at the CFA he was strong both physically and mentally, but 21 years later he sits on his couch in his Cowwarr home feeling like a burden to his family.
Mr Gibbs, 52, was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia in 2016, had one of his legs amputated, and has spent about three of the past five years in hospital.
"It's hard with everything going on with my body. Sometimes you think, why bother?" he said.
"If it wasn't for my wife and daughter, I probably would have been gone a while ago in all honesty."
Importance of PPE
Mr Gibbs fought fires in Gippsland and in metropolitan Melbourne for 15 years and was now pushing for working firefighters to safeguard themselves by testing their blood regularly and wearing personal protective equipment.
"Don't think cancer's not going to happen to me. Be on the forward foot and go, well I'm going to wear everything I can to protect myself and my family," Mr Gibbs said.
"Smoke doesn't discriminate.
Mr Gibbs said firefighters should be aware of the specific dangers of attending structural fires.
"The older houses, a lot of them are full of asbestos," he said.
"If the house is burning down and there's no-one inside and it's burning really well, don't go in, there's no point."
In a statement, a spokesperson for the CFA said the authority took workplace safety seriously and provided respiration protection and health surveillance for staff.
"Victorian firefighters are also protected by the state government's presumptive rights cancer legislation, which covers 12 specific cancers," the CFA spokesperson said.
WHO recommendations
Earlier this month, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer announced that firefighting was a cancer-causing profession.
Firefighting was upgraded to Group 1, classified as "carcinogenic to humans" based on evidence that workers were exposed to a variety of chemicals and hazards at work.
Latrobe Regional Hospital's director of cancer services Tricia Wright said any time individuals were exposed to toxins it increased their risk of cancer.
"All of those toxic chemicals can be absorbed both through the lungs when you breathe them in and through the skin," Dr Wright said.
Firies should get regular blood tests
Dr Wright said protective equipment and regular cancer screening were important for firefighters.
Despite the health risks, Firefighters Union chief Peter Marshall said demand for the profession remained high.
"There are still at least 2,000 to 3,000 applicants for 30 positions," Mr Marshall said.
"They do it because they like helping people even though they're confronted with a fairly substantial risk to their own health and safety.
"The occupation of firefighting is indeed one that forgoes quantity and the quality of life in protecting the public."
