by ARI PAUL
Retired Firefighter Kenneth Specht can't say for sure that the thyroid cancer he battled and overcame was a result of years fighting blazes in Queens, but he believes that many Fire Department members are falling ill due to their work.
Along with four colleagues, Mr. Specht is building a new non-profit organization- the New York City Firefighter Brotherhood Foundation- that will act as a center for information as well as emotional and financial assistance for firefighters with illnesses.
'A Lot More Carcinogens'
"The regular combustibles- woods, plastics- that's how we grew up," Mr. Specht said. "It's a different day and age. The carcinogens have expanded. It's not the house built in 1920. It's underground wiring for telephones."
More and more firefighters, both active and retired, have contracted respiratory illnesses and developed various cancers from breathing in toxins on the job, Mr. Specht said. It's a reality stemming not just from working at Ground Zero, but from exposure to particles and chemicals from new construction materials that can be inhaled, he said.
While firefighters might be getting treatment, Mr. Specht argued that they need emotional support as well. The FDNY has counseling units in the five boroughs and upstate, but while he praised its work, Mr. Specht believed firefighters needed an independent organization.
"There's a stigma attached to it," he said of the counseling units. "He's afraid of something getting out. That's where we come in."
One aim of the organization is to have a team of volunteer active and retired firefighters provide emotional support in addition to acting as an information base for sick firefighters about where they can seek medical treatment and what kind of options they have. Mr. Specht believed that at this point, there was no place that offered a comprehensive package of information about such medical treatment.
'A Close-Knit Group'
"Firemen are strange people," said co-founder Craig Buccieri, a retired Lieutenant who served in upper Manhattan. "Very close-knit; we're a family. There's nobody else a fireman would rather talk to than another fireman."
The organization will also provide financial assistance to sick firefighters who, because of their medical costs and physical limitations, have fallen behind on their bills or have lost substantial income. This is desperately needed, Mr. Specht said.
"There's no one right now," he said. He sidestepped a question about whether many of the services the group is offering weren't the domain of the firefighter unions.
Currently, Mssrs. Specht and Buccieri are working with firefighter retiree organizations and community groups to get volunteers and applying for grants to get put together a fund for financial assistance.
Counting on Outside Help
Mr. Buccieri is confident that firefighters who are supportive of their mission will hold various fundraisers to build the new organization.
"Firemen are pretty good," Mr. Buccieri said. "It's word of mouth."
While the group will be independent from the FDNY and both the Uniformed Firefighters Association and the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, Mr. Specht hoped his organization would get the support of labor and management.
"We're not looking to run a race with the unions," he said. "But we're ready to work on our own."
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