VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia lawmakers want to do more to protect all first responders when they’re exposed to toxic chemicals that can potentially cause cancer.
On Good Friday back in 2012, a Navy jet crashed into an apartment complex in Virginia Beach. Miraculously, no one was killed, but Virginia Beach Fire officials say first responders were exposed to toxic chemicals that day.
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Virginia Beach Fire Department Chief Kenneth Pravetz said, “I know we had jet fuel, carbon fibers, we had a lot of buildings burning, materials, automobiles. Just everything that could possibly be involved in a big chemical soup.”
Experts say the chemicals were potentially harmful. Back in April, Virginia Beach Firefighter Matt Chiaverotti died from a rare form of cancer and several years ago he also responded to the Good Friday crash.
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“You can’t tie anything to a specific event. We know the risk at that event was different and there are cancers that are related to the materials that he was exposed to, so the presumption is the event may have led to Matt’s cancer,” said Pravetz.
Pravetz said Matt’s case was one of seven active cancer cases within the department, some potentially related to the crash.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reported that they recently undertook two large studies focused on firefighter cancer and concluded that 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.
The city said 538 firefighters took a blood test that identifies 50 different cancers in May.
“I was excited to have the opportunity. The city committed to giving the funding so that we could do this kind of medical surveillance, which was huge. We did have a couple people that popped positive and identified some cancers through that, so hopefully, we're ultimately saving lives,” said Pravetz.
Brian Luciano, the president of the Virginia Beach police union (the Virginia Beach Police Benevolent Association), said he wants all first responders who were at the Good Friday crash to also get tested.
Luciano said, “We’re very happy that the fire department was tested. We just feel that our officers who responded, as well as the deputies who responded and all of EMS who responded to the crash, they need to be tested. And every day that goes by that they’re not tested is a day that this cancer may not be detected.”
Here is the response from the City of Virginia Beach:
The 2012 aircraft incident was a significant event, and we are thankful for our first responders who took the necessary risks at this incident and for those who take risks every day to help keep our city safe. City leaders have taken recent steps to address the expansion of need for early detection screenings for the effects of these risks. As you already know, City Council included in its 2024 General Assembly Legislative Agenda, a request for the creation of a new Emergency Response Toxic Exposure Grant Fund and Program. The program would provide health care funding to local government employees who were exposed to toxic materials when responding to emergencies declared by the Commonwealth or a locality.
The General Assembly has amended HB 133 and SB 650, and the legislation now requires a work group to first analyze options for providing preemptive and ongoing health care support for local government employees who respond to these types of emergencies and to identify additional events throughout the Commonwealth that may qualify for support. The City is hopeful that the General Assembly will pass this legislation, and that this workgroup will identify the scope of the challenge and provide a sound path forward to support local government employees who respond to these emergencies.
In 2023 a voluntary Galleri Cancer Screening was provided to all Virginia Beach Fire Department employees since so many firefighters had been diagnosed with cancer following the jet crash. More than 500 VBFD employees participated in this cancer screening opportunity. The Galleri Cancer Screening was provided to VBFD employees because of their heightened risk of developing occupational cancer and the presumption that many cancers are work-related and can be a compensable claim under Virginia Worker's Compensation Act. Firefighters are covered under Virginia Worker's Compensation Code, §65.2-402, which recognizes that many cancers may be work-related for firefighters. The same cancer presumption is not recognized for other local first responders. I’ve attached for you a fact sheet with some background and research on this topic that may help with your story.
Once the General Assembly session concludes, we will connect with Council to discuss appropriate next steps for the City.
Two bills recently passed unanimously in the Virginia House and Senate that will create a work group that will look at how funds could potentially be used to treat first responders in the state exposed to toxic chemicals while on the job, including the Good Friday crash. Now, they need approval from both chambers and the governor.
Virginia State Senator Aaron Rouse, who represents the 22nd District, is a sponsor of one of the bills. He said, “Not every bill gets unanimous support, but this was one of them, and I'm proud that partisanship didn't get in the way and that we all are very concerned and supportive of our first responders.”
Luciano said he wishes testing would have taken place sooner. However, he says he's grateful the bills are moving forward in hopes of helping first responders in the past and during future tragic events.
He said the bills would, “be addressing the failure that took place between 2012 and today. That would make sure that this didn’t happen again."
While firefighters say they have better protocols in place when it comes to handling gear, exposure to chemicals and controlling hazardous materials, leaders say more testing could save lives.
“If we can catch it early and treat it, we can save a life and save a lot of money,” said Pravetz.
