The life of a firefighter is hard. No singular day at work is the same, and one false step can be the difference between life and death. Having prioritised his health and fitness to sustain a 30 plus year career in the Fire Service Paul* was alarmed when he began to experience progressively worsening fatigue and tiredness. By August 2022 Paul knew something was wrong, with a biopsy in October 2022 confirming he had the asbestos cancer, mesothelioma. How could it be that after so many years of battling fires that Paul’s life was now being threatened by floating fibres hardly visible by the naked eye? Circumstances of exposure Paul joined the Fire Service in late 1965. Through dedication and diligence he moved through the ranks, working in a multitude of roles and stations in a hands-on capacity until 1983. Between 1983 and his retirement in 1996 Paul continued to work for the fire service in a supervisory role. Throughout his hands-on service Paul was regularly exposed to asbestos. He attended garage fires where a car was alight inside, with many of these garages having asbestos roofs which exploded and shattered when hit by the streams of water from Paul’s hose. As a result asbestos dust and debris would float in the air down to the ground, spreading over a wide area and into the direct vicinity of the firefighters. Once the fire was out Paul raked up the debris to make sure there were no hot embers. Unfortunately, his willingness to ensure a safe working area also resulted in the further disturbance of the dust and debris from the asbestos damaged in the fire. In addition to this environmental exposure Paul was exposed to asbestos through equipment provided by the service. Asbestos blankets and gloves were used on a weekly basis, exposing Paul’s skin to direct contact with asbestos fibres. Kneeling and shaking the blanket disturbed the asbestos and launched its fibres into the air. The asbestos gloves worn left residue and dust on Paul’s hands. Both the gloves and blankets were used during the firefighter's training leading to further exposure. The pipework in the boiler room at the Fire Station was lagged with asbestos, the pipes running about six feet high. That asbestos lagging deteriorated over time with the coarse asbestos blankets regularly being thrown on them to dry and then being pulled off when dry to be packed away. Paul had asbestos exposure as a result of doing this in the enclosed boiler room environment. Breathing apparatus was not worn routinely by fire fighters in those days and was only really worn when there was very thick smoke. Paul was not provided with any other masks or protection. Mesothelioma symptoms develop Paul’s diagnosis came about he attended his GP reporting extreme tiredness. The fatigue, which started in around August 2022, followed a summer of unexplainable weight loss. Paul underwent a CT scan which showed a thickening of the omentum lining of the stomach. A biopsy performed in October 2022 resulted in the retired firefighter being diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in early November 2022. The claims process Paul contacted Boyes Turner in December 2022 and sought assistance from the specialist mesothelioma and asbestos disease claims team. Melloney met with Paul days after Christmas and worked efficiently to have his letter of claim lodged quickly. A statement from one of Paul’s past colleagues assisted with proving liability, and medical evidence from a consultant physician and registered general nurse allowed for Paul’s claim to be accurately assessed and calculated. Melloney secured Paul an interim payment from his former employer who formally admitted liability in mid-2023, and Melloney was able to negotiate a formal settlement of Paul’s claim in June 2024, the terms of which settlement preserved his position with regards to future private medical treatment. It has been a pleasure to have assisted Paul in securing this successful outcome. *Names have been anonymised For more information about how the mesothelioma and asbestos disease claims team can help you or your loved ones after a diagnosis of an asbestos related disease, please contact the team by email on asbestos@boyesturner.com or by telephone on 0118 952 7199.
