Eight additional cancers added to B.C. firefighters' occupational disease list, service thresholds updated

Plain-language summary · AI-assisted · not legal advice

B.C.'s Firefighters' Occupational Disease Regulation now lists eight additional cancers as presumptive occupational diseases for firefighters: primary site skin cancer, laryngeal cancer, mesothelioma, soft tissue sarcoma, tracheal cancer, bronchial cancer, nose cancer, and pharynx cancer. Firefighters who develop any of these conditions and meet the minimum cumulative service periods — 10 years for skin cancer and 15 years for each of the others — can now rely on the presumption that the disease is work-related when making a workers' compensation claim. Separately, the minimum service period for an existing listed disease (item 10 in the table) has been reduced from 20 years to 15 years, making it easier for affected firefighters to qualify. Fire departments, their insurers, and WorkSafeBC claims administrators should update their intake and adjudication processes to reflect the expanded list and revised threshold.

Who this affects: firefighters · fire departments and employers · WorkSafeBC claims administrators · occupational health and workers' compensation practitioners