Firefighter fought ‘the good fight’
Chief: First woman in Everett dept., 56, dies from occupational cancer
Everett lost their only active duty female firefighter to occupational cancer yesterday, the department’s chief said.
Susan Pipitone, 56, of Haverhill battled the disease for over a year after serving on the fire department since 1993.
“She was fighting the good fight, she’s a strong woman,” Everett fire Chief Anthony Carli told the Herald yesterday. “It’s a sad day.”
The first woman to work as a firefighter in the department’s history, Pipitone was there even before Carli joined.
Pipitone drove Engine 1 for 12 years, Carli said, while he was still a captain. They often rode in the truck together.
“I worked side by side with her for number of years, she was well-liked by everybody,” Carli said. “She was a great person to work with.”
The chief said he’s thankful that Gov. Charlie Baker signed a law last week recognizing occupational cancer as a line of duty injury for firefighters.
“There’s a lot of stats out there that say firefighters contract cancer at a larger rate than the public, so it’s definitely a concern of ours,” Carli said. “We do everything we can to protect our members but it’s a reality that we face.”
Firefighters face a 9 percent increase in cancer diagnoses and a 14 percent increase in cancer-related deaths compared to the general population in the U.S., according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Carli has been in contact with Pipitone’s wife, he said.
“We’ve been helping her through this troubling time, she’s a strong woman herself,” Carli said. “The fire service is a family — whether that person is gone — we’re still there for the family long after that happens.”
A wake is tentatively scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. tomorrow at Rocco Salvatore & Sons Funeral Home in Everett.
A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Woodlawn Cemetery.