Colorado Springs Fire Department signs into Colorado Firefighter Trust

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Colorado Springs firefighters will not have to pay out-of-pocket expenses for medical treatment related to certain kinds of cancer, heart disease, and behavioral health issues. On Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Yemi Mobolade signed into the Colorado Firefighter Trust, allowing firefighters to get their medical expenses compensated without having to fight for workman's compensation.

"Our firefighters have a 9% greater chance of being diagnosed with cancer, a 40% greater chance of dying from cancer," Mayor Yemi Mobolade said. "These first responders risk themselves for the greater good, and the last thing they should do is worry about when they face work-related heart, cancer, or behavioral health issues and how to pay for those out-of-pocket medical expenses."

Fire officials said that the toxic chemicals used in building modern-day homes and structures can emit toxic fumes, exposing firefighters to more cancer-causing chemicals.

"The reality is, even with all that we do,  there's still a potential of somebody getting cancer," Colorado Springs Fire Chief Randy Royal said. "Among the firefighters here today, there are at least three or four that I can see right now that have either dealt with it or are dealing with it right now."

Royal went on to say that at least 30 firefighters in Colorado Springs had dealt with cancer, or were getting treatment for it now. He said that over the decades of his career, he could see the risk escalating.

David Vitwar with the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control is a prime example of the unfortunate epidemic among firefighters. Vitwar was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2009, which further metastasized into brain cancer. He says he had to fight to get workman's compensation from the city when he was diagnosed, even though his cancer was covered through the state's legislature.

"During that time, I was not only fighting cancer, but I also had melanoma [that had] metastasized as a brain tumor ... and I also had to show up in court to fight for the financial support that I needed to fight cancer as well," Vitwar said.

However, the general fund won't just cover expenses related to cancer.

The fund also covers expenses related to behavioral health issues and heart issues, something firefighters are also at a higher risk of developing. In 2022, the fund expanded to include thyroid cancer and also covers marital counseling for firefighters, given that they can carry extensive stress because of the trauma they face on the job -- something that can bleed into relationships at home.

"Firefighters do heroic things when they're asked to. Nobody ever thought when they got into the fire service that heart disease, cancer, and mental health would be challenges that they would be facing in their careers. And the fire department's come a long way. They provide a lot of mental health services so that it doesn't rise to the level of having to go to inpatient facilities," Vitwar said.

For the next four years, the fund will be available to firefighters free of charge to the department. In 2027, around $120,000 of the department budget will go towards the program to ensure its use for the years to come.

"That's over 14 years ago that we started this battle," Vitwar said.  "Just knowing that now the Colorado Springs firefighters won't have to go through what I went through, that's huge."