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Firefighters urge Oregon to expand presumptive coverage to all cancers
Summary
Firefighters, union representatives and a medical epidemiologist urged MLAC to recommend expanding Oregon—s presumptive workers' compensation coverage to include all cancers, citing mechanistic evidence, international IARC reclassification, and equity concerns; presenters said other states and provinces have moved toward all-cancer models.
Firefighters and their medical experts urged the committee to support legislative change expanding the state's presumptive coverage for occupational cancers to include all cancers.
Alan Pregar (legislative director, Oregon State Firefighters Council) introduced union presenters. Emerald Bogue, chief of staff to Governor Tina Kotek, urged recognition of firefighter risks and cited PFAS contamination in turnout gear and the WHO/IARC classification that finds firefighting exposures carcinogenic. "Our firefighters deserve to be protected," she said, urging the committee to support action.
Union leaders elaborated on exposure, screening and the human toll. Al Forshawer outlined health-screening results and preventive aims; fire chief Mike Haven described his own rare blood cancer and the difficulty of proving causation under Oregon—s current presumptive framework. "The deck is stacked against the firefighter," Haven said, explaining the documentary and expert evidence he compiled and urging a presumptive approach so families do not have to litigate causation while sick.
Dr. Dan Wu, chief medical officer for the International Association of Firefighters, provided an extended epidemiological argument that Oregon should adopt a rebuttable presumption for all cancers in firefighters. He cited mechanistic evidence, meta-analytic literature and IARC's reclassification and argued an "all-cancer" model would reduce administrative appeals and improve equity. "It is time for Oregon to shift the burden of proof where it belongs on the employer and away from sick and dying firefighters," Dr. Wu said.
Committee members thanked presenters and requested written testimony, visuals (charts and case citations), and further stakeholder engagement; presenters said they were engaging with the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association but that the chiefs had not taken a formal position. The union indicated plans to return with more materials in October.
Why it matters: Expanding presumptive coverage would alter the burden of proof in workers' compensation claims, potentially increasing approvals and reducing prolonged appeals for firefighters with cancers not currently enumerated in Oregon statutes. State legislators and rulemakers would need to weigh actuarial costs, subrogation options, and employer/stakeholder positions.
