Deputy Chief Brad Cusick told the Overland Park Public Safety Committee the fire department treats firefighting as an occupational carcinogen and has a written cancer risk-reduction program that includes engineering, procedural and lifestyle controls.

Cusick summarized the scientific basis for heightened cancer risk in firefighting and listed steps the department has taken: station and apparatus-bay ventilation, two sets of bunker gear per firefighter to allow cleaning, on-scene decontamination procedures, gear washers at stations, shower protocols, laundry/apparatus cleaning procedures, and expanded health screening tied to NFPA standards.

Cusick said the department has implemented NFPA guidance for emergency responder occupational health and wellness and performs annual physicals to detect early signs of cancer or other conditions. He told the committee the department seeks to expand screening technology and lab testing and that a vendor request later on the agenda would advance those capabilities.

Examples of new or expanded screening Cusick described include stool hemoccult tests for colon cancer, thyroid testing, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and testosterone testing for men, CA-125 testing for women for certain gynecologic cancers, and ultrasound organ screening (abdomen, thyroid, testes or ovaries) intended to detect tumors or other abnormalities earlier.

Cusick framed the program as layered controls (engineering, procedures and lifestyle) and emphasized early detection and a cultural commitment to decontamination. He said the city is moving toward vendors that can provide on-site annual physicals with expanded screening and ultrasound options and that those services form part of a later action request to the committee.

Council member Mosher asked whether the governing body could do more to help; Cusick asked for continued support when staff bring budget or program requests forward. The committee did not take action on the cancer program at this meeting; Cusick said he would return with a vendor recommendation later the same session.