VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Firefighters in Virginia Beach are one step closer to being able to access more health screenings after a City Council discussion Tuesday.
The discussion came less than a month after the funeral of 48-year-old Virginia Beach firefighter and fire investigator Matthew Gallina, who died Aug. 21 after battling occupational esophageal cancer. His wife, Michelle, attended Tuesday’s informal council session.
“I’d like to take you back there to that day,” Fire Chief Kenneth Pravetz told the council members, many of whom attended Gallina’s funeral at Harbor Park. “If you could think for a moment, ‘What if we could’ve done something different? What if we could’ve prevented us being at that event?’ I’m here to tell you today, that we have the power and the opportunity to make some positive change for our firefighters.”
Pravetz shared sobering statistics about the dangers of a career as a firefighter. Even aside from the immediate danger of fighting a fire, the job comes with heavy exposure to carcinogens and a much greater risk of cardiac issues at a younger age than the general population. That’s due to factors such as shift work, sleep disruption, and more, Pravetz said.
“The average age for a firefighter having a heart attack is 49 years old; the average age for the population is 66,” the chief said. Data from the National Fire Protection Association shows 43% of on-duty firefighter deaths are cardiac-related.
In 2020 and 2021, the Virginia Beach Fire Department lost two employees to cardiac events. They were 54 and 63 years old.
“Besides the loss of two great people, the cardiac claims cost the city about $600,000 each,” Pravetz said.
Also remembered during the discussion was VBFD Capt. Matthew “Chevy” Chiaverotti, who died in April 2023, also from cancer, like Gallina.
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The firefighting profession is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen – the highest level – by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Firefighters have a 9% higher risk of a cancer diagnosis and 14% higher risk of death from cancer than the general population.
Currently, there are 11 open worker’s compensation claims for cancer in the Virginia Beach Fire Department. In the fiscal year 2020-2021, the department spent $4 million treating employees’ cancers.
“Finding cancer in its early stages will save lives and will very likely save money,” Pravetz said. “If we can prevent one cancer claim from reaching stage IV, we will easily cover the cost of all the screening for all firefighters for many years.”
Pravetz said steps the department has already taken include decontamination of firefighters as they leave a scene, second sets of gear so they don’t have to continue to wear dirty gear for the rest of a shift after a fire, sleep studies, reduction of mandatory overtime thanks to additional staffing, a focus on mental health and peer support and more.
The chief recommended a program of 47 health assessments for firefighters, up from the current 23. These include a number of different types of cancer and cardiac screenings, as well as ultrasounds, bone density tests, and others. Some would take place on an annual basis, while some would be spread across multiple years, and some based on risk factors such as age.
Pravetz added that the additional tests would cost the department about $800,000 a year.
“While our focus is on keeping the workforce safe and saving lives, there are financial considerations to implementing aggressive health screenings for the firefighters. We believe we can accomplish this plan and ultimately save the city money by eliminating some of the claims for advanced disease and fatalities.”
Council Member Rosemary Wilson called the program “amazingly important.” She supported spending the city money on it but also encouraged the city to ask for state and federal help through the upcoming legislative package.
Pravetz noted he had productive conversations along those lines with several state representatives recently – at Gallina’s funeral.
“A lot of positives coming from a tragic event,” he said. “Hopefully we can make it better for the next generation.”
The council agreed to have City Manager Patrick Duhaney bring forward a resolution to consider at its next meeting that would allow the program to go into effect right away.
