SEATTLE — When firefighters and medics rush to an emergency, they know they could be putting their lives are at risk. But what about the risk inside the walls of their own fire station?
That is the question the city of Seattle has been trying to answer for more than 15 years about Fire Station 31 in Northgate. Firefighters have repeatedly raised concerns about cancer rates and other illnesses related to the station.
One of the station’s firefighters met with Chief Harold Scoggins to share his concerns. “That’s when I started to learn about the history, and he also briefed me to let me know that a couple of firefighters are currently battling cancer,” Chief Scoggins told KIRO 7.
That’s why the city is teaming up with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center researchers to conduct a new study of cancer cases at Station 31.
It’s not the first time researchers have studied the potential connection.
In 2004, KIRO 7 reported on similar health concerns and a year and a half study ordered by then-Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels on both Station 31 cancer rates and the building itself.
The Washington Department of Health found of the 1,622 people who’d worked at Station 31 between 1975 and 2003, 119 suffered from some type of cancer.
The most common cancers were prostate cancer and melanoma. However, the study found no positive link between the cancer cases and Station 31.
An environmental study by Prezant Associates Inc. found lead in the dirt portion of the basement that was once used as a firing range, along with large numbers of bacteria in the dust.
After the study, the flooring was covered by concrete and the walls were cut open to improve ventilation. Because the study found no definitive proof that Station 31 was responsible for the cancer cases, the city gave the building a clean bill of health.
The fire department continued monitoring Station 31 inside and out.
Since the 2004 study, high lead levels were again found and remediated.
Researchers at Fred Hutch will be looking at records for all 2,700 firefighters who worked out of Station 31 between 1973 and the end of 2016.
That phase of the study should get underway by the end of June. The results should be available by the second quarter of 2019.
The study is costing the city around $400,000.
Whatever the outcome, Chief Scoggins says it’s important for firefighters to be assured they’re safe inside their fire station. “We want to find out what’s going on, and if it’s identified that there is a significant concern that we need to address, we’re going to address that concern. That’s been my commitment from day one.”
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