Even if the number of women firefighters is steadily growing across the U.S., they remain without fair legal protection against the occupational illnesses that affect them. By 2020, the nation counted 89,600 women firefighters, over 72,000 of them volunteers, making up around 11% of the entire firefighting force. Yet, too many are falling ill and dying from breast, cervical, ovarian, and uterine cancers. The Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) took a long-overdue step in 2025 by officially recognizing these cancers as occupational illnesses for female firefighters. However, many states didn’t adopt the same protections or failed to cover some of the female-specific cancers. Moreover, most states ignore volunteers or have vague provisions to cover this large group. Unfortunately, West Virginia is among the states without any presumptive laws that deny women firefighters the clear protections they deserve.
Cancer: A Proven Occupational Hazard for Firefighters
Nowadays, firefighters are not just fighting fires and smoke but also facing continuous exposure to hazardous toxins. Among the most concerning are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), used in aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) for fuel fires, and embedded in the very turnout gear firefighters rely on for safety. Several research papers show that PFAS exposure is connected to multiple cancers, including those that uniquely affect women, such as uterine, ovarian, cervical, and breast cancers. Women firefighters are exposed to the same environmental dangers as men, but their anatomy makes them disproportionately vulnerable to these deadly diseases.
A recent firefighter cohort study covering both genders and volunteers found a 63% higher overall cancer incidence among firefighters compared to the general public. An increased prevalence of cervical and thyroid cancers stood out as particularly concerning. These findings highlight what many women firefighters already know: their risk in the context of their exposure to PFAS is real.
Women Firefighters Face Gaps in West Virginia Law
The number of women firefighters in West Virginia is unclear. However, some areas, like Frametown, report women making up 55% of the force. Despite federal recognition of female-specific occupational cancers, West Virginia legislations lag far behind. While the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards banned PFAS usage in new turnout gear, the state remains silent on the toxic chemicals embedded in the very equipment firefighters wear — protecting them from flames, but not from exposure.
Even more troubling is that West Virginia’s presumptive coverage law remains unclear, leaving room for interpretation. It only applies to career firefighters and fails to include women-specific cancers specifically. Technicalities such as prior tobacco use are being used to deny coverage, despite overwhelming scientific evidence that chemical toxic exposure is the true threat. And the truth is that women firefighters are left unsupported and excluded from the protections available for their peers.
West Virginia Must Step Up for Its Women Firefighters
West Virginia lawmakers cannot continue to ignore this issue. The state must amend its presumptive law coverage to match federal standards and include female-specific cancers such as breast, ovarian, cervical, and uterine cancers. Also, both career and volunteer firefighters must be covered without loopholes that allow arbitrary disqualifications. The state should also reconsider rebuttable presumption clauses, which force firefighters to prove exposures that are nearly impossible to document, despite years of hazardous exposure during their service.
West Virginia has long celebrated fairness, community, and public service, but excluding women’s occupational cancers from coverage betrays those ideals. Without these changes, the proud West Virginians are caught in a battle with red tape, not only the deadly cancer. These women are our daughters, our sisters, and our mothers. We need to honor their service and the principles West Virginia claims to stand for.
About the Author:
Jordan Cade is an attorney with the Environmental Litigation Group P.C., specializing in toxic exposure litigation, with a focus on occupational hazards torts involving PFAS and other harmful chemicals.
