Prince William firefighter urges county-funded cancer screening after multiple recent diagnoses

Mitch Nason, a 20-year veteran of Prince William County Fire & Rescue, told the Board of Supervisors during public comment that multiple confirmed cancer diagnoses among firefighters in recent months show a need for a county-funded early-screening program.

Nason said three confirmed cancer diagnoses occurred in the department in the previous three months and listed additional diagnoses and medical problems reported by co-workers. He said a General Assembly-funded study is screening 800 Northern Virginia firefighters, but that study excludes many members of the local force: it covers only workers 35 or older and with at least 10 years of service, and results are not available to all career and volunteer firefighters locally.

Nason asked the board to consider allocating between $150,000 and $200,000 a year to screen all county firefighters (career and volunteer) on a 2-to-3-year rotation. He argued that early detection reduces treatment costs and triggers presumptive coverage processes under Virginia's firefighter-presumptive law; those presumptive cases can become workers' compensation claims for the county.

County supervisors and staff did not take immediate action on the request during markup. Shorter and staff took the comment for follow-up and noted the county's role and budget constraints; they also pointed to the statewide screening pilot funded by the General Assembly. The board did not adopt a specific budget line for screenings at markup; supervisors asked staff to track the public comment and to provide information about options and costs if the board wanted to study a locally funded program further.

Ending Supervisors thanked Nason for raising the issue and asked staff to include screening-cost options and legal/benefit implications in a future follow-up memo so the board can consider whether to add the screening program to a future budget.