About the series
interested now in trying to save people with his profound faith.
His frequent appointments with Holdren in the small studio are more about faith than ink. He sits in the chair for about 25 hours over the spring and summer of 2017, and the two believers spend most of that time explaining how and why Firefighters are more likely to die of cancer than in burning buildings. The Dispatch explores why cancer is such a risk to firefighters,s, and how one dying man iss trying to save them. See e video, podcasts and more at Dispatch.com/ unmasked.
TODAY: Seeking health benefits
they surrendered their lives to Christ.
They match each other Bible verse for Bible verse, and they share personal stories about how faith guided them through the dark times.
Rine hasn’t been mad at God in the five years of his cancer fight. Terminal cancer is the best thing that ever happened to him, he says.
It finally made him the person he was supposed to be, the person he never thought he could be.
But there’s still more work to do with his firefighting brethren.
And he plans to use his favorite Bible verses, those tattooed on his arm, to guide him for whatever time he has left.
“And only God knows how long I’ll be around to help,” Rine says. Missy Collier holds the blackened helmet that her husband, Jeff, wore while he was a firefighter with Washington Township. Behind her is a line of similarly charred helmets that he used while working for other fire departments. He died of lung cancer at age 40 and she struggled to get his benefits for herself and three sons. Jeff Collier was a firefigher with several fire departments near Dublin and Plain City. He died of lung cancer at age 40.
who contract cancer are presumed to have gotten it from the job. If they win their claims, firefighters can receive compensation for lost wages and disability benefits, and their families can receive death benefits.
Rine’s own claim under the presumptive cancer law was filed in early August. He received a letter from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation saying it had been approved. But then Rine learned that the city of Columbus had appealed his case.
The law states that firefighters must have been working on hazardous duty and exposed to high-level carcinogens for at least six years for their cancer diagnosis to be eligible. Rine was 87 days short. Unless he eventually wins in the appeals process, his wife and five children won’t
receive about $1,000 a week in benefits after he dies.
Other states with similar laws have a five-year requirement, but Rine said he never thought about the math of his own case while helping pass the law.
“This will have a huge impact on my family; it feels like someone spit in my face,” he said. “I believe in doing what is right. And if they believe it’s probable that my cancer was caused by fighting fires, then my family should get those benefits.”
Thirty-six states have passed presumptive cancer laws for firefighters, despite some critics who question whether firefighters and the media are exaggerating the cancer risk.
“Studies don’t consistently bear out a strong enough association of causation for firefighters,” said attorney Kris
Kachline, who represented the Ohio Municipal League and spoke out against the presumptive bill. “It’s necessary to look at the individual to determine causation and the background of the firefighter to determine causation.”
But those connected to firefighting are thankful the law is in place and hope it can help families deal with their loss.
For decades, that wasn’t the case.
Missy Collier lost her husband, Jeff, to occupational cancer. Jeff Collier, a firefighter for Plain City and Washington Township, died in 2006. He was 40 years old.
Missy realized she needed to protect their three boys and wanted to keep their ranch home just outside Plain City.
Doctors employed by his state pension fund denied her claims that Jeff developed cancer from his job. Missy couldn’t find an attorney to take her case.
She decided to gather evidence of the hundreds of fires that Jeff had fought. Missy went station to station gathering reams of paper from departments willing to help. She found Jeff was exposed to more than 50 carcinogens. The pension doctors later approved her claim, allowing her to keep the house.
“It was a nightmare,” Missy said. “Ten years ago, we didn’t have this bill to protect us. They have that now, but who knows how it’s going to work.”