CPF’s Ongoing Legacy to Fight Cancer

For decades, CPF has led the charge with groundbreaking milestones, from securing PPE standards to passing the nation’s first firefighter cancer presumption law. This work continues to protect those who protect us. Learn more about CPF’s ongoing legacy in the fight against cancer, and how you can join the fight:

1978 – CPF Wins Personal Protective Equipment Standards

Faulty and outdated PPE caused a catastrophic 1967 failure that left a Sacramento firefighter in a near-coma state for two decades. CPF created and pushed through state standards that forced departments to provide safer PPE and SCBAs.

1982 – CPF Wins First Cancer Presumption Law

With the signing of AB 3011, California became the first state in the nation to recognize the tremendous risk of cancer that firefighters face due to toxic exposures in 1982. The CPF-backed law went on to inspire other states to adopt similar legislation.

1985 – Personal Exposure Reporting (PER) is Created

Established in 1985, CPF’s Personal Exposure Reporting (PER) has been a secure lockbox for nearly 300,000 exposure reports. Originally on hand-written postcards, recording your exposures is easier today than four decades ago at PERonline.org.

1999 – Employee's Burden of Proof for Cancer Presumption Cases Is Eliminated

AB 539 protected firefighters facing a cancer diagnosis from needing to demonstrate that the carcinogen they were exposed to is reasonably linked to a disabling cancer. The presumption could only be challenged by evidence that the carcinogen that the firefighter was exposed to is not reasonably linked to the disabling cancer.

2010 – Dallas Jones Cancer Presumption Act

Former CPF Secretary-Treasurer Dallas Jones, who bravely fought his own battle with job-related cancer, dedicated himself to expanding cancer presumption protections. While he didn’t live to see its passage, the William Dallas Jones Cancer Presumption Act of 2010 safeguards firefighters for up to ten years after retirement.

2022 – Public Safety Presumption Protection Passes

CPF-backed SB 1127, passed in 2022, was an important measure to strengthen the operation of presumptions already in place under the law. The bill holds employers and insurers accountable by shortening the timeline for determining the compensability of a presumptive claim, increasing penalties, and more than doubling temporary disability for cancer recurrence.

2023 – $6 Million in California Firefighter Cancer Prevention Research Funding

First-of-its-kind legislation to create a program and provide funding for community-based participatory research focused specifically on cancer in the fire service. The nearly $6 million in initial awards funds for research projects co-led by California firefighters and UC researchers.

To learn more about CPF-supported firefighter cancer research studies and how you can participate, visit cpf.org/cancerresearch.