Why Should You Report Exposures?

Whether it’s a toxic release in a house fire or a needle stick on a medic call, firefighters swim daily in a soup of toxins that can shorten their lives.

Cancer … tuberculosis … MRSA … hepatitis. All diseases where firefighters are at dramatically greater risk. Job-related illness is the biggest killer in the fire service. 

Indeed, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has concluded that being a firefighter is, in itself, a Group 1 carcinogen, the same as if it were a chemical or other toxin. 

Personal Exposure Reporting (PER) is your first line of defense

Though heart disease, cancer and some blood-borne illnesses are covered under California’s firefighter presumption laws, Workers’ Compensation, disability and even survivor benefits for families can be – and often are – challenged by employers.

To protect yourself and your family, you need proof. Personal Exposure Reporting from CPF gives you that proof.

PER meets the linkage requirements for cancer. It meets the test for proving exposure in rebuttable presumption cases. And it is your confidential record. Your employer can’t touch it.

A medical record that can save your life

Modern fires and emergency responses create risks unimagined in earlier times. From toxic flame-retardants to airborne pathogens, new medical risks are everywhere.

PER is your permanent record of these hidden risks. With exposure records, your physician can more easily identify the causes and treatments if you should get sick.

The doctor can also more easily verify that it was caused by your job – more help in proving the cause of your illness in a dispute over health, disability and survivor benefits.