[Public Safety Committee on October 13, 2026.]
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WE ARE JOINED TODAY, UM, BY COUNCIL MEMBERS, ALCORN AND FLICKINGER AND STAFF FROM THE OFFICES OF COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO CARTER, MAYOR PRO, TIMM, CASTEX, TATUM, THOMAS RAMIREZ, HUFFMAN, AND PANZA AND MARTINEZ.
UM, WE HAVE ONE PRESENTATION TODAY, AND THAT WILL BE FROM THE HOUSTON PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION AND UT HEALTH.
IT WILL BE ABOUT THE TEXAS FIREFIGHTER CANCER STUDY OVERVIEW AND UPDATE.
UM, MARTY, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE ANYONE WHO'S HERE, AND WE'LL HAVE YOU BEGIN.
UH, IT'S MY HONOR TO INTRODUCE, UH, DR.
JWE WONG, WHO IS THE, UH, PRINCIPAL LEAD RESEARCHER FOR UT HEALTH, UH, SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH.
UH, ALSO BEHIND ME, I HAVE OUR DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY, EXCUSE ME, UH, DIRECTOR OF HEALTH AND SAFETY, UH, GABE DOMINGUEZ, AS WELL AS THE PRESIDENT PRO TEM, UH, ROY CORMIER, UH, AS WELL AS OTHER, UH, INDIVIDUALS THAT SHOULD BE COMING IN FROM, UH, UT HEALTH, UH, SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH.
UM, WANT TO TAKE JUST A BRIEF SECOND BEFORE WE GET STARTED WITH THIS AND, UH, LET THE COUNCIL KNOW.
TODAY IS THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF CAPTAIN JAY YANKE IN HIS PASSING.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS, UH, STAYED WITH US WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HOW WE NEVER FORGET AND WHAT THE LESSONS THAT WE HAVE LEARNED AND WHAT CAPTAIN YANKE AND WHAT HIS SACRIFICE DID IS CHANGE NOT ONLY THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT, THE FIRE SERVICE, UH, AS A WHOLE, AND THAT IS WHY WE HAVE A FOURTH MAN ON THE APPARATUS.
SO, UH, WANTED TO TAKE A SECOND AND RECOGNIZE, UH, THE SACRIFICE OF THE YANKI FAMILY AND TO REMEMBER HIS LEGACY.
UM, AND THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR, UH, BEING HERE AND THAT EVERYONE WHO HAS HELPED US, UH, GET TO THIS POINT, THE RESEARCH TEAM, THE LEGISLATIVE PARTNERS, THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS, THE ASSOCIATIONS, AND ESPECIALLY THE FIREFIGHTERS THEMSELVES.
IT HAS BEEN EXCITING TO HEAR THE EARLY INSIGHTS, UH, OF THE RESEARCH HERE AT UT HEALTH HOUSTON AND CONSIDER WHAT THOSE FINDINGS COULD MEAN FOR THE HEALTH OF THOSE WHO PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE EVERY SINGLE DAY.
WHEN WE WERE WORKING IN AUSTIN IN SPRING OF 2025 TO SECURE FUNDING FOR THIS RESEARCH, WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT THAT SITTING HERE TODAY, UH, ONE YEAR INTO THE STUDY, WE HAVE 700 FIREFIGHTERS THAT HAVE SIGNED UP FOR THIS.
ABSOLUTELY ONE OF A KIND, UH, RESEARCH STUDY THAT IT'S NEVER BEEN DONE.
UH, I'M VERY PROUD, AND NOT ONLY ARE WE PROUD OF THE 700, BUT I CAN TELL THIS, UH, COMMITTEE THAT WE EXPECT TO HAVE A THOUSAND PARTICIPANTS, WHICH IN A RESEARCH STUDY LIKE THIS IS TRULY REMARKABLE.
UH, THAT INCLUDES CADETS THAT ARE JUST BEGINNING THEIR CAREER.
ACTIVE FIREFIGHTERS WHO HAVE BEEN SERVING RETIREES, WHO HAVE ALREADY GIVEN DECADES OF SERVICE BECAUSE OF THE FIREFIGHTERS PARTICI PARTICIPATING IN THIS STUDY AND HAVING THE COURAGE.
THEY'RE HELPING TO BUILD KNOWLEDGE THAT COULD PROTECT THE FIREFIGHTERS, NOT JUST HERE IN HOUSTON, BUT AROUND THE WORLD.
AND THE NEXT CLASS OF CADETS OF PEOPLE WHO ENTER THIS PROFESSION LONG AFTER WE'RE GONE.
OTHER PEOPLE WE ARE TRYING MOST TO TEACH AND TO PROTECT.
THE RESPONSE TELLS US HOW MUCH THIS WORK MATTERS TO FIREFIGHTERS AND THEIR FAMILIES.
AND I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT WE WANT ANSWERS.
WHEN WE WENT TO THE LEGISLATURE, WE CARRIED THE EXPERIENCE OF OUR MEMBERS WITH US, THE COLLEAGUES THAT ARE FACING A DIAGNOSIS.
THE FAMILY IS TRYING TO HOLD EVERYTHING TOGETHER THROUGH TREATMENT.
THE FRIEND WHOSE RETIREMENT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A BEGINNING, NOT AN ENDING, THOSE EXPERIENCES DROVE THE PUSH FOR THIS STUDY AND THEY WILL DRIVE US MOVING FORWARD.
JU Y WONG AND THE UT HEALTH HOUSTON TEAM, OUR HEALTH AND SAFETY DIRECTOR, CAPTAIN GABE DOMINGUEZ, DISTRICT CHIEF MARINO, OUR HOUSTON PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, OUR PARTNERS OF THE T UH, T-S-A-F-F, REPRESENTATIVE, LACEY HALL, REPRESENTATIVE JARED PATTERSON, AND SO MANY OTHER LEGISLATIVE CHAMPIONS HELPED TURNED THIS NEED INTO AN INVESTMENT.
WE WANT TO THANK THEM FOR STANDING WITH US.
WE WANT TO THANK MADAM CHAIR FOR STANDING WITH THE FIREFIGHTERS AND SUPPORTING THIS.
WE ARE BEYOND GRATEFUL, JUST SO YOU ALL KNOW AND HAVE AN IDEA.
JUST LAST WEEK, WE HAD THE TEXAS FIREFIGHTER CANCER SYMPOSIUM AT THE NEW BUILDING OF THE UT HEALTH SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH BUILDING IN THE MEDICAL CENTER.
IT IS A BEAUTIFUL BUILDING THAT IS DEDICATED TO THE RESEARCH OF NOT ONLY A FIREFIGHTER CANCER, BUT ALSO OTHER OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES.
WE HAD LEGISLATORS FROM ACROSS THE STATE ATTEND.
WE HAD FIREFIGHTERS FROM ACROSS THE STATE ATTEND, AND WE HAD THE ENTIRE RESEARCH TEAM THAT SPANS THE STATE OF TEXAS THAT WERE IN ATTENDANCE AS WELL.
WE WERE THANKFUL TO HAVE MAYOR WHITMEYER COME AND SPEAK
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AS WELL AS MANY OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS.WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO GROW AND CONTINUE GIVING RESEARCHERS THE SUPPORT TO FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE AND USE WHAT THEY LEARNED TO DRIVE CHANGE THAT FIREFIGHTERS CAN FEEL IN THEIR OWN LIVES.
THAT MEANS FINDING WAYS TO LIMIT HARMFUL EXPOSURES, IMPROVE SCREENING AND EARLY DETECTION, AND DEVELOP POLICIES THAT PROTECT US THROUGHOUT OUR CAREERS.
AND AFTER WE RETIRE, THE SCIENCE CAN HELP GUIDE DECISIONS ABOUT HOW WE TRAIN, HOW WE EQUIP OUR FIREFIGHTERS, AND HOW WE PROTECT THEIR HEALTH.
CONTINUED PARTNERSHIP AMONG RESEARCHERS, LAWMAKERS, CITY COUNCIL, AND THE FIRE SERVICE IS CRITICAL.
YOU COULD BE SURE THAT MYSELF AND H-P-F-F-A WILL BE WORKING TO MAKE SURE THAT HAPPENS HERE IN HOUSTON.
FIREFIGHTERS FROM ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA COME HERE FOR CANCER TREATMENT AT THE WORLD RENOWNED MD ANDERSON.
WE WELCOME THEM, WE HELP THEM.
WE STAND WITH THEIR FAMILIES, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
BUT IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD MEAN IF RESEARCH LED AT THE LET BUT IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD MEAN IF THE RESEARCH THAT WAS LED HERE COULD HELP MAKE MORE OF THOSE FIREFIGHTERS AVOID THE DIAGNOSIS OR FIND IT SOONER, THE IMPACT OF THAT ON THEIR FAMILIES WHO GO THROUGH EVERYTHING WITH THEM.
AS WE APPROACH THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION, H-P-F-F-A WILL BE BACK IN AUSTIN ASKING FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO BUILD ON THIS WORK.
WE WILL BRING THE PROGRESS, THE NEEDS, AND THE VOICES OF FIREFIGHTERS WITH US.
WE FOUGHT WITH OUR PARTNERS TO GET THIS STARTED AND WE INTEND TO SEE IT THROUGH TO EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM.
WE ASK FOR YOUR HELP AND CONTINUED SUPPORT.
PLEASE HELP US MAKE THIS CASE FOR WHAT COMES NEXT.
THE FIREFIGHTERS COMING INTO THIS PROFESSION, THE ONES SERVING TODAY, AND THE ONES WHO HAVE ALREADY SERVED DESERVE A HEALTHIER FUTURE.
NOW, IT IS MY HONOR TO ENDURE, UH, INTRODUCE DR.
JING WONG, WHO HAS BEEN A CHAMPION WORKING WITH US FOR YEARS TO MAKE THIS VISION A REALITY.
WE ARE GONNA GO TO THE SLIDE AND MOVE THROUGH THAT AND LEAVE TIME FOR ANSWERS.
UM, I INTRODUCED HER PREMATURELY.
I THINK I'VE GOT THE FIRST TWO SLIDES.
UH, BUT IF WE CAN GO, UH, TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UH, WE'VE COVERED A LOT OF THIS IN MY OPENING, BUT I WANT TO BE CLEAR.
UH, CANCER ACCOUNTS FOR ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF THE NAMES ADDED TO THE IFF LINE OF DUTY DEATH MEMORIAL THAT WE GO TO, THAT WE JUST CAME BACK FROM IN COLORADO SPRINGS.
THAT IS THE NATIONAL FIRE AND FALLEN FIREFIGHTER MEMORIAL.
UH, WE KNOW THAT CANCER AFFECTS ACTIVE FIREFIGHTERS IN RETIREES, AND WE KNOW IT AFFECTS THEIR FAMILIES.
WE KNOW THAT HOUSTON FIREFIGHTERS, IN ADDITION TO WHAT WE DO, WE HAVE CONTINUED TO SHOW UP FOR FIREFIGHTERS, NOT ONLY IN HOUSTON, BUT WE GET CALLS WEEKLY FOR FIREFIGHTERS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY.
AND WE DO EVERYTHING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE TAKING CARE OF THEM.
IT IS WHAT WE BELIEVE IN THE FIRE SERVICE TO BE THE BROTHERHOOD AND THE SISTERHOOD, WHICH IS THERE ARE A MILLION REASONS WHY YOU THINK YOU CAN'T DO SOMETHING.
WE JUST NEED YOU TO FIND ONE REASON TO DO THE RIGHT THING.
IF YOU WANNA GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS GIVES A BRIEF OVERVIEW.
UH, AND I SAY BRIEF BECAUSE THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN TO THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE KNOWS THAT THERE'S NOTHING BRIEF OR EASY ABOUT GETTING ANYTHING, UH, PASSED, UH, BECAUSE IT IS A MONUMENTAL TASK AND THERE IS SO MANY THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON.
AND SO IT IS TO THE CREDIT OF OUR TEAM THAT WE WERE ABLE TO SECURE $5 MILLION IN THE STATE OF TEXAS BUDGET.
THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED IN THE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND THAT IS THROUGH THE WORK OF H-P-F-F-A, UH, AND OUR TEAM ADVOCATING FOR THIS STUDY TO PROVIDE REAL CHANGE THAT IS NOT AN EASY FEAT.
UM, JUST SOME, SOME HISTORY, UH, THE WAY THAT THE LEGISLATURE WORKS, UH, THE HOUSE DOES ITS BUDGET AT THE BEGINNING OF SESSION.
THE SENATE DOES ITS BUDGET AT THE BEGINNING OF SESSION.
UH, SO WE HAD LEGISLATORS SUBMIT, UH, WRITERS IN EACH, UH, TO ENSURE THAT WE COULD GET THIS DONE.
UM, AT THE BEGINNING OF SESSION, THEY GO THROUGH IT AND, YOU KNOW, IT DIDN'T SEEM LIKE THERE WAS GONNA BE A PATH FORWARD, UH, BUT THE BUDGET IS RECONCILED AT THE END OF SESSION.
AND I'M SO PROUD OF THE PARTNERS THAT I MENTIONED.
UH, CHAIRWOMAN LACEY HALL, CHAIR JARED PATTERSON, UH, STAN KITMAN, WHO IS THE CHAIR OF THAT COMMITTEE, UM, DID A MONUMENTAL TASK IN MAKING SURE THAT THIS BECAME A REALITY AND THEIR WORK, UH, SHOULD NOT GO UNNOTICED.
NOT ONLY THAT, BUT I WANT TO BE CLEAR, THIS DIDN'T JUST START LAST SESSION.
IN FACT, OUR TEAM STARTED ALMOST 10 YEARS AGO WITH MD ANDERSON AND UT HEALTH TRYING TO GET A COHORT STUDY DONE UNDER THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION.
UNFORTUNATELY, AT THE TIME, UH, WE COULD NOT GET, UH, THE CITY OF HOUSTON TO AGREE TO GIVE DATA TO THESE, UH, INSTITUTIONS, WHICH WAS UNFORTUNATE.
HOWEVER, THROUGH THE WORK OF WHAT DR.
JEWING WONG AND HER ENTIRE TEAM HAVE DONE LEADING UP TO THIS IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THIS IS GONNA BE HERE.
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BUT BECAUSE OF THEIR WORK, AS SOON AS THIS WAS FUNDED, THE MERE FACT THAT WE HAVE A YEAR LATER, 700 PARTICIPANTS ALL THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF TEXAS IS TRULY REMARKABLE.UH, WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE ALREADY FIREFIGHTERS THAT ARE IN THIS STUDY FROM THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY, UH, NORTH, UH, TO DALLAS, FORT WORTH, WEST TO EL PASO, AND ALL POINTS IN BETWEEN, INCLUDING RIGHT HERE IN THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UM, WITH THAT SLIDE, IF YOU WANNA GO TO THE NEXT ONE, I AM GONNA TURN IT OVER TO DR. WONG.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, PRESIDENT MARI LANGTON, UM, FOR YOUR REALLY WARM, UH, WELCOME.
AND I REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM TO GIVING ME THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY.
MY NAME IS J WANG AND I'M AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR FROM THE UT HEART HOUSTON.
AND, UH, UM, I HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH, UH, UH, FIREFIGHTERS OVER 10 YEARS.
UM, AND IT'S BEEN VERY PRIVILEGED TO WORK WITH, YOU KNOW, UH, THE, SUCH A WONDERFUL OCCUPATIONAL GROUP, UH, FOR THE FIREFIGHTERS.
UM, SO LET ME START WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THIS SLIDES.
UM, SO WE ACTUALLY TAKE A LOOK AT THE, UH, TEXAS COMMISSION ON THE FIRE PROTECTION, THEIR DATABASES, UH, SINCE 2019 TO THE LAST YEAR, WHEN THE DATA IS, UH, MOSTLY UPDATED, THE FIVE TIMES THAT CANCER HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED AMONG THE TEXAS FIREFIGHTERS FROM THE NUMBER 19 TO ALL THE WAY TO NEARLY 100, THIS IS A EPIDEMIC FOR THE CANCER AMONG THE TEXAS FIREFIGHTERS.
SO, UM, THIS IS A, UH, ABSOLUTELY WE HAVE TO STOP FOR THIS EPIDEMIC CANCER AMONG THE FIREFIGHTERS.
AND, UH, THIS IS NOT SURPRISING BECAUSE, UH, THE NATIONAL DATABASE IS ALSO SHOWING THAT 9%, UH, OF THE FIREFIGHTERS HAS HIGHER CANCER RATES, UH, THAN THE, THE GENERAL POPULATION IN TERMS OF THE MORTALITY, WHICH IS A DEATH RATE, IS A 14% IS HIGHER THAN THE GENERAL POPULATION.
SO THIS HAS TO BE STOPPED AGAIN.
HOWEVER, THERE IS NEW DATA, NEW INFORMATION ABOUT THE TEXAS FIREFIGHTERS.
THAT'S WHY, UM, WORKING WITH THE, UH, HOUSTON PROFESSIONAL FOR THE FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION, UH, AND THE, UH, THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT, UH, WE HAVE DEVELOPED THIS STUDY DESIGN FOR THE TEXAS FIREFIGHTER CANCER STUDY.
UH, THAT'S WHY WE ARE SO, UH, THRILLED TO SHARE THE, WHAT WE HAVE DONE SO FAR.
SO, TEXAS FIGHTER STUDIES, UH, WE HAVE, UH, ONE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS TRYING TO ANSWER HOW DO THE FIREFIGHTERS, UH, FIREFIGHTING EXPOSURES TRANSLATE INTO CANCER, AND HOW DO WE INTERVENE? SO WE START TO FIRST TO, UH, ANSWER FROM THE WHERE IS CANCER COMING FROM, WHERE IS THE CARCINOGENIC COMING FROM? SO WE ACTUALLY DEPLOY OUR RESEARCH TEAM FROM THE UT HEALTH TO THE FIRE GROUND AND THE FIRE STATION AND FIRE VEHICLES AND MANY OTHER, THEIR WORKING ENVIRONMENT.
SO WE FIRST TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHERE IS EXPOSURE COMING FROM THE CARCINOGENIC, WHICH MEANS, YOU KNOW, CARCINOGENIC MEANS, YOU KNOW, CANCER CAUSING CHEMICALS.
AND THEN WE ALSO TAKE A LOOK AT THEIR OLDER BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES LOOKING AT THE CANCER BIOMARKER CHANGES OVER TIME PERIOD.
ESPECIALLY OUR TEAM IS LOOKING AT THE, YOU KNOW, CANCER BIOMARKERS BEFORE AND AFTER FIRE SUPPRESSION.
SO THAT'S, UH, EXACTLY, WE ARE ACTUALLY TRYING TO ANSWER HOW DID THE FIRE SMOKE ACTUALLY CHANGING THE BIOLOGICAL, YOU KNOW, THE SYSTEMS, ESPECIALLY THE CANCER BIOMARKERS.
AND THEN OF COURSE, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE CANCER OUTCOMES, ALL THE DIFFERENT TYPE OF THE CANCERS.
AND THIS ONE, WHY WE ARE DOING THIS ONE BECAUSE WE ARE TRYING TO PROTECT, UH, OUR FIREFIGHTERS FROM THE, THE EARLY DETECTION.
SO, UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF THE TEXAS FIVE FIGHTER CANCER STUDY, WE HAVE, UH, THREE DIFFERENT PROJECT.
IT'S ALL THE INDEPENDENT, UH, THE DISTINGUISHED PROJECT.
BUT ONE SCIENTIFIC FRAMEWORK, NUMBER ONE IS A GENIC EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT.
AS THE PRESIDENT MARTIN LANGTON MENTIONED.
UH, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THREE DIFFERENT SUB COHORT STARTING FROM THE CADETS, UH, WHO HAVE NEVER BEEN EXPOSED TO ANY FIRE, SMOKE, ANY OTHER CARCINOGEN FROM THEIR WORKING ENVIRONMENT AND THE ACTIVE DUTY, UH, FROM THE, THEIR FIRE STATIONS AND THE RETIRED FIREFIGHTERS FROM THE OLD MANY YEARS OF THE SERVICES.
SO WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, UH, THE, THE, THE
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CHIEF MARINO, WHO IS ALSO FROM THE, UH, HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE CAPTAIN DOMINGUEZ FROM THE, UH, FIRE, ALSO HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT, WHO HAS WORKING TIRE ALL ABOUT THE RECRUITMENT AND MAINTAINING ALL OUR STUDY COHORTS.NUMBER TWO PROJECT IS OCCUPATIONAL CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY.
WE ARE WORKING WITH THE DSHS, UH, ESPECIALLY WORKING ON THE TEXAS CANCER REGISTRY DATABASES.
SO THAT DATABASES HAS ALL ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, CANCER INFORMATION AMONG THE TEXAS, YOU KNOW, OR THE GENERAL POPULATION, BUT THAT DOES NOT HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE FIREFIGHTER SPECIFIC INFORMATION.
SO THAT'S WHY WE ARE LINKING, WE ARE LINKING THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON THE FIRE PROTECTION AND THE STATE OF THE AL DATABASES, WHICH IS VERY SPECIFIC FOR THE FIREFIGHTERS, YOU KNOW, THEIR WORKING ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION.
SO WE LINK THESE ALL THREE DATABASES TO SEE THE OCCUPATIONAL CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY, ESPECIALLY FOR THE INCIDENTS MORTALITY AND THE PREVALENCE OF THE, UH, THE, THE FIREFIGHTERS COMPARED TO THE GENERAL POPULATION.
NUMBER THREE PROJECT IS A CANCER SCREENING PROMOTION.
THIS IS A VERY SPECIFIC TARGETING FOR THE, ESPECIALLY THE CAN, UH, THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT.
WE KNOW THAT WE UNDERSTOOD THAT THE, YOU KNOW, THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS ANNUAL HEALTH EXAM OR SCREENING.
UH, SO WE DON'T WANT TO OVERLAP THIS ALREADY EXISTING EFFORTS.
THAT'S WHY WE ARE PROMOTING THEIR, YOU KNOW, THIS ORDER ALREADY EXISTING, YOU KNOW, EFFORTS.
SO THAT'S WHY WE ARE, UH, WORKING TOGETHER BY THE FOCUS GROUP AND INTERVIEW.
I WILL GET BACK TO, UH, I, WE WILL GET INTO EACH OF THE PROJECT IN A MINUTE.
UM, ACTUALLY, UM, PRESIDENT TON, IT'S NOT THE 700, IT'S A 780 PARTICIPANTS SO FAR.
UH, WE HAVE RECRUITED, UH, ACROSS THE WHOLE ENTIRE STATION, ENTIRE STATE, I'M SORRY, UH, OVER 14 DIFFERENT FIRE DEPARTMENT FROM THE HOUSTON AIR PASTOR, BROWN SPEAR, SAN ANTONIO, AUSTIN, DALLAS, AND FORTH WORTH, AND MANY OTHER GREATER HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENTS AROUND HERE.
AND FROM THE AMAZING, YOU KNOW, TEAMWORK, UH, WE HAVE COLLECTED OVER 13,000 BIOSPECIMEN SAMPLES, OVER 10,000 DATA POINTS AND, UH, QUESTIONNAIRES, INFORMATIONS, AND, UH, WE ALREADY HAVE DONE THE, THE SECOND TIME VISIT.
SO THIS IS A LONGITUDINAL STUDY DESIGN, MEANING THAT WE ARE NOT VISITING JUST ONE TIME FOR THE EACH PARTICIPANT.
WE ARE DOING THAT ON THIS MULTIPLE TIMES.
SO FROM THE BASELINE, WHICH IS, UH, VISIT NUMBER ONE TO THE SECOND VISIT, WHICH IS A FOLLOW ONE, UH, WE HAVE MAINTAINED OUR FIREFIGHTERS UP TO 79%.
THIS IS A PHENOMENA ACTUALLY IN THE, UH, THE WORLD OF THE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY, USUALLY MAYBE ABOUT 20 OR 30% OF THE RETENTION RATE.
AND, UH, AMONG THIS, YOU KNOW, HOLDER BEHIND THE, THE NUMBERS, WE HAVE NEARLY 400 DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS, MEANING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE MEET ALL THESE, YOU KNOW, FIRE DEPARTMENT, FIRE CHIEF, AND OUR STAKEHOLDERS ACROSS HOLDER ENTIRE STATES TO PROMOTE AND TO INCREASE, YOU KNOW, THEIR, YOU KNOW, THE ATTENTION AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THEIR PARTICIPATIONS.
AND, UH, PROJECT NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS OCCUPATIONAL EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY, WORKING WITH THE DSHS, UH, USING THE TEXAS CANCER REGISTRY.
WE DEVELOP ALREADY A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, THE STUDY PROTOCOLS AND THEY APPROVED OUR UT HEALTH, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, IRB, WHICH IS AN INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH BOARD REVIEWS.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE NOT ONLY FOR THE UT HEALTH, UH, WE ALSO, THE DSHS, THEY ALSO HAVE ANOTHER TEAM TO REVIEW ALL THE, OUR STUDY PROTOCOLS.
AND, UH, AS I MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE ARE LINKING TOGETHER AND WORKING TOGETHER BECAUSE THE DSHS IS WORKING ONLY FOR THE FEMALE FIREFIGHTERS, AS OPPOSED TO OUR TEAM IS LOOKING AT THE ENTIRE.
THAT'S WHY WE ARE NATURALLY GOT INTO THE, YOU KNOW, TEAM AND WORKING TOGETHER.
UH, WHILE WE ARE WAITING FOR THE, THIS STUDY, UH, THE, UH, YOU ORDER IRB APPROVER STUDY COURSE, WE WERE ALSO WORKING ON THE SCOPING RESEARCH LITERATURE REVIEW, WHICH MEANS, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GETTING MORE SHAPE FOR THE, ALL THESE, YOU KNOW, ANALYTICAL PLANS AND THE RESEARCH, UH, THE MANUSCRIPT AS WELL.
UM, SO THIS ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK IS GOING TO BE, UH, USING A LOT OF DIFFERENT VARIABLES, UH, STARTING FROM THE 1995 TO THE 2022.
SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET TO THE ORDER, YOU KNOW, UNANSWERED QUESTIONS.
HOW MANY OF THE FIREFIGHTERS IN TEXAS HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE CANCER DIAGNOSIS
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AND HOW MANY FIREFIGHTERS HAVE BEEN DIED FROM THEIR, YOU KNOW, THE SERVICE AND SO ON, AND WHAT TYPE OF THE, WHAT, WHAT GROUP OF THE FIREFIGHTERS ACTUALLY GOT THE, UH, THIS, YOU KNOW, CANCER DIAGNOSIS AND SO ON.FOR THE PROJECT NUMBER THREE, WHICH IS A, UH, CANCER SCREENING PROMOTION.
UH, WE HAD OVER, YOU KNOW, 35 FIREFIGHTERS PARTICIPATING FOR THE 14 DIFFERENT INTERVIEW, ONE TO ONE INTERVIEW, AND SOMETIMES GROUP INTERVIEW.
SO THIS IS, UH, THE NUMBER IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER, IT'S A LITTLE BIT RELATIVELY SMALLER THAN THE PROJECT NUMBER ONE, BECAUSE THIS IS A DIFFERENT TYPE OF THE STUDY, WHICH IS MORE, YOU KNOW, ENGAGED THE CONVERSATION FOR UNDERSTAND BETTER UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE, UH, CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES, WHAT WE CAN DO BETTER FOR THE PROMOTING OF THE, THEIR CANCER SCREENING PROMO, UH, CANCER SCREENING PRACTICES.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE DONE, NOT JUST FOR THIS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TEXAS FIVE FIGHTER CANCER STUDY, WE ALSO, UH, OUR RESEARCH TEAM AT THE UT HEART IS NEARLY 50 INVESTIGATORS, RESEARCHERS, STAFF, AND STUDENTS.
SO WE ARE VERY PRODUCTIVE TO WORK ON THE TEXAS FIVE FIGHTERS, NOT ONLY FOR THE CANCER, BUT ALSO THEIR HEALTH OVERALL.
SO WE PUBLISHED, UH, IN THE, IN A HIGH IMPACT SCIENTIFIC, UH, PEER REVIEW JOURNALS, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THESE, UH, THREE EXAMPLES.
AND, UH, WE ALSO CONTINUOUSLY WORKING ON THE ORDER DISSEMINATING AND IMPLEMENTING OUR FINDINGS, NOT ONLY FROM THE, WITHIN THE UT HEART OR HOUSTON OR OUR TEXAS, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, UH, REST OF THE OTHER, YOU KNOW, THE GROUPS.
UH, AND, UH, SO BETTER, BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE WHAT IS ACTUALLY SUCH HELPING FOR THE FIREFIGHTERS HEALTH.
UM, IN ADDITION, WE ALSO SECURED $1.2 MILLION FROM THE
THIS IS SPECIFICALLY WORKING ON THE TE CON DECONTAMINATION PRACTICES.
UH, THIS ONE IS WORKING WITH THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT VERY CLOSELY, UH, BECAUSE WE ARE ACTUALLY DEPLOYING TO THE FIRE GROUND, UH, AND THE, ALL THE, THE SYSTEMATIC WAY OF THE TECOM PRACTICES, HOW THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, HOW THEY WATCH THEIR GEAR, HOW THEY, UH, HAVE A PERSONAL HYGIENE PRACTICES.
UH, SO WE ARE GOING TO PROVIDE ALL THESE, YOU KNOW, SYSTEMATIC WAY OF THE TECOM PRACTICES TO REDUCE THEIR POTENTIAL EXPOSURE TO THE CARCINOGEN.
SO THAT IS ONE OF THE, ANOTHER MANY WAYS TO PREVENT AND PROTECT OUR TEXAS FIREFIGHTERS, ESPECIALLY WORKING WITH THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT.
AND WE ALSO CONTINUOUSLY SUBMITTING THE OTHER FEDERAL FUNDING RESEARCH FUNDING THROUGH THE NIH, UH, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF THEIR HEALTH AND THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY, WHICH IS ANOTHER WAY OF OUR SECURING FUNDING.
UM, SO, UH, SO BEFORE THAT, YEAH, WHAT WE HAVE, WHAT I JUST SHARED WITH YOU, THAT WAS JUST DONE YEAR UNDER THE ONE YEAR, UH, UNDER THE JUST ONE 12 MONTHS.
UM, SO THIS, WE NEED TO DO, YEAH, A LOT OF THINGS TO AHEAD OF US.
SO, YEAR NUMBER TWO, OUR PRIORITY IS FIRST TWO.
WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE HAVING OUR OLDER, OVER 780 FIREFIGHTERS, UH, KEEP OUR, YOU KNOW, UH, THEIR ATTENTION AND THE RETENTION TO FOLLOW, UH, THE, OUR TEXAS FIVE FIGHTER CANCER STUDY, WE ARE NOW, NOW TARGETING 1000 FIREFIGHTERS.
WE ARE INCREASING ACTUALLY OUR, UH, STUDY PARTICIPANTS, UH, TO HAVE A, YOU KNOW, BETTER, BETTER UNDERSTANDING.
AND DURING ALL THESE, YOU KNOW, BIOSPECIMENS AND COLLECTED ALL THE BIOSPECIMENS, UH, WE WILL FINALLY ANALYZE ALL THESE BIOSPECIMENS, UH, WHAT WE COLLECTED FROM OUR STUDY PARTICIPANTS TO DETECT ALL THESE, YOU KNOW, CANCER BIOMARKERS AND MANY OTHER, YOU KNOW, THE, THEIR HEALTH RELATED, YOU KNOW, INTERNAL DOSE.
AND, UH, UH, PROJECT NUMBER TWO, WE RECONSTRUCT OUR COHORTS, MEANING THE ENTIRE TEXAS, YOU KNOW, THE GENERAL POPULATION AND THE FIREFIGHTERS.
AND THEN WE CAN SEE THE OVERALL AND THEN THE DIFFERENCE SITE SPECIFIC OF THE CANCER INCIDENTS, MORTALITY AND, UH, PREVALENCE OF THE, THEIR, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CANCER RATES.
UH, AND THEN PROJECT NUMBER THREE IS, UH, WE WILL FINALIZE ALL THESE DETERMINANTS OF THE SCREENING BEHAVIOR AND IDENTIFY LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE THEMES FOR THE PROGRAM DESIGN.
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EVEN LOOKING AT FURTHER, NOT JUST TO FOR YEAR ONE AND TWO, WITHIN THE, THIS TEXAS FIREFIGHTER CANCER STUDY, FROM THE STATE OF THE, UH, LEGISLATOR DATA APPROPRIATION, UH, WE ARE CONTINUE TO WORKING ON THE, OUR PROTECTION, UH, PROTECTING OF OUR TEXAS FIVE VIRUS, USING THE BIOMARKER BASED RISK SIGNAL.THE FLAG CHANGES BEFORE THIS IS DEVELOPED.
OUR PARTICIPANTS ARE ALL CURRENTLY VERY, VERY HEARTY, VERY ACTIVE AND SUPER, YOU KNOW, UM, ENERGETIC ABOUT THEIR ALL THE WORK.
AND THEY HAVE A, UH, SUCH A SO ROYALTY OF THEIR WORK.
WE DON'T NEED TO WAIT UNTIL THEY DIAGNOSE THE CANCER AFTER 20 OR THREE YEARS LATER, WE CAN DO NOW TO PROTECT FROM THE, THEIR, YOU KNOW, THE EARLY CANCER BIOMARKERS USING THE STATE OF ART EXPOSURE, ASSOCIATED OMICS APPROACHES.
AND AGAIN, THE PREVENTIONS IS SO IMPORTANT.
UH, WE CAN PREVENT, UH, FROM THERE ANY POTENTIAL EXPOSURES FROM THE FIRE GROUND VIA STATIONS AND THEIR WORKING ENVIRONMENT.
SO THAT'S WHY IT'S A, PREVENTION IS OUR SECOND, ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, DATA, UH, THE ATTENTION AND THEN POLICY AND PRACTICES.
UH, THIS IS ACTUALLY, I, WE NEED YOUR, UH, SUPPORT AND WE NEED YOUR ATTENTION.
UH, SO DATA, WHILE WE ARE GOING TO GENERATE TONS OF DATA, UH, THIS IS EVIDENCE BASED INFORMATION.
SO DATA INFORMED, THE DEPARTMENT PRACTICES SCREENING AND STATE HEALTH POLICY WILL BE DIFFERENT SHAPE.
AND THE LASTING RESOURCES IS A STATEWIDE LONGITUDINAL COHORT AND BIOBANK FOR THE FUTURE FIREFIGHTER, UH, RESEARCH.
UH, BUT WE ARE SO PRIVILEGED TO WORK WITH THE, UH, HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT.
THEY ARE ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, RIGHT BEHIND THE BUS, YOU KNOW, OUR BACKYARD.
SO WE ARE WORKING DAILY BASIS, ACTUALLY THE WORKING TOGETHER AND COMMUNICATING TOGETHER.
AND, UH, WE REALLY APPRECIATE THEIR ORDER SUPPORT.
UM, WE'RE GONNA GO THEN GONNA GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, BEFORE WE MOVE ON, I WANNA RECOGNIZE, UH, PAULINA ROMERO COMMUNITY HEALTH EDUCATION SPECIALIST WITH UT HEALTH.
UM, I THINK I FAILED TO MENTION HER.
UM, SHE HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING TRAVELING, HELPING THE FIREFIGHTERS GET THROUGH, UH, THE INITIAL PROCESS OF GETTING THIS STUDY GOING.
UM, AND ALSO I WANTED TO, UH, TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY AND WE'LL BRING DR. WONG BACK UP, BUT I WANTED TO RECOGNIZE HE HB, UH, HFD FIRE CHIEF TOM MUNOZ, UH, AND INVITE HIM UP HERE IF HE WOULD LIKE TO SAY A COUPLE THINGS.
UH, BUT THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBERS AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
WHAT WE DON'T SEE IS WHAT GOES ON BEHIND THE CLOSED DOORS, AND THAT'S, AND OUR FIREFIGHTERS HAVE GOTTEN CANCER AT MASSES WEEK WEEKEND, ONE OF OUR DISTRICT CHIEFS RETIRED, AND FIVE MONTHS LATER, HE COMES DOWN WITH STAGE FOUR LUNG CANCER.
BUT JUST TO GIVE YOU AN INDICATION OF HOW THE DOCTOR MENTIONED, THIS IS A PANDEMIC NOW AT THE WALL THIS YEAR, THE MEMORIAL WALL, 311 PEOPLE GOT MENTIONED.
247 OF THOSE WERE CANCER RELATED.
SO THAT'S THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE.
THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT THING.
I, IT'S, IT'S HARD TO SEE, TALK TO FAMILIES.
BUT WORKING WITH THE UNION, WE COME TO SOLUTIONS AND HELP THE FAMILIES, JUST LIKE THEY HELPED US.
SO ON THE AVERAGE 30 YEARS WHEN THEY RETIRE, AND NOW SOME ARE GETTING YOUNGER, 42 YEARS OLD, THEN YOU HEAR THAT THAT PERSON'S, THAT FIREFIGHTER'S WIFE ALSO HAS CANCER.
AND THE ONE THING THEY ASK CHIEF, TAKE CARE OF OUR MEMBERS, TAKE CARE OF OUR PEOPLE.
AND I HAVE HAD, IT'S HARD WHEN I SAY, CAPTAIN, WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU? MAKE SURE MY FAMILY'S TAKEN CARE OF.
AND I WANNA THANK THE RESEARCH GROUP FOR THE DEDICATION AND COMMITMENT THEY'VE GIVEN TO FINDING OUT THE SOLUTION.
SO IT'S MORE THAN FINDING THE WHAT'S, HOW THEY GET CANCER ALLOWS US TO PICK THE PROPER GEAR, USE THAT STUDY TO TRACK, ARE WE DOING BETTER? CAN WE DO BETTER? BUT AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT THAT YOU CONTINUES GIVING US.
BUT THIS IS HOW WE SAY WE GOT YOU AND WE MEAN IT.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE DO FOR OUR MEMBERS.
BUT IT IS VERY HARD TO SEE THEIR FACES AND JUST KNOW, STAGE FOUR CANCER,
[00:30:01]
I WHISPER IN A ZERO.I SAID, WHATEVER YOU NEED, JUST TAKE CARE OF MY FAMILY.
AND WE SHOULDN'T BE PUT IN THAT POSITION.
'CAUSE WE HAD GREAT MEN AND WOMEN THAT PUT THEMSELVES IN A POSITION TO SAVE OTHERS.
SO I APPRECIATE YOU DON'T WANNA TAKE ANY MORE TIME.
AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT.
UH, BUT THAT'S WHAT REALLY MEANS A LOT TO US.
UH, I DO, UH, WANT TO TAKE A SECOND.
I THINK A LOT OR SOME OF YOU UP UPON COUNCIL HAVE KIND OF SEEN, UM, THE HISTORICAL THINGS THAT WE HAVE GONE THROUGH.
AND IT, IT'S, IT'S BEEN QUITE A LONG TIME THAT YOU HAVE SEEN, UH, EVERYBODY WORKING TOGETHER TO ADDRESS PROBLEMS AND TO SOLVE THEM.
AND I WILL SAY THAT, UH, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY AND ALWAYS BEING AVAILABLE, UH, THE FIRE CHIEF, UH, HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST PRESENT PEOPLE WE HAVE EVER HAD.
AND THAT IS TO HIS WORK ETHIC, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY TO THE HEART THAT HE HAS, UH, BECAUSE THERE ARE BIG PROBLEMS THAT WE ARE FOCUSING ON, BUT HE DOES NOT SHY AWAY FROM 'EM.
AND WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO FIND SOLUTIONS.
AND SO WHAT DO WE DO ON BUILDING, UH, ON THE INVESTMENT THAT WE HAVE? BECAUSE THIS WOULDN'T BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE PARTNERSHIP WITH, UH, CHIEF OZ.
AND IT'S THE OPPOSITE ISSUES OF WHAT WE HAD, YOU KNOW, UH, YEARS AGO, WHICH IS, WHAT CAN WE DO, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE GOT YOU MEANS THAT YOU HAVE TO ACT.
SO BUILDING ON THIS INVESTMENT FIRST STARTS WITH SECURING FUNDING.
UH, WE ARE GOING TO BE GOING BACK TO THE STATE SEEKING ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO SUPPORT IN 2027, BUT NOT JUST FOR, UH, THE CANCER STUDY, BUT FOR A LONG-TERM COMPREHENSIVE, UH, KEEPING UP WITH THIS, WE KNOW THAT INHERENTLY AS A FIREFIGHTER, THAT OUR JOBS ARE THE ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS IN THE WORLD.
UM, I THINK THE IROC HAS NOW IDENTIFIED FIREFIGHTING AS A CLASS ONE CARCINOGEN, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST IT CAN BE, WHICH IS MEANS THAT EVERYTHING THAT WE COME IN CONTACT WITH, UH, HAS THE POTENTIAL TO KILL US.
SO WE KNOW THAT WE SIGN UP TO BE IN VERY HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS, BUT IT'S OUR, UH, JOB AND RESPONSIBILITY, I BELIEVE, AS LEADERS, IS TO FIND WAYS TO LIMIT THAT AND ALSO FIND WAYS, UH, TO GET THERE AND GET TO THIS EARLY.
BECAUSE THERE IS WAYS TO SAVE LIVES IF WE HAVE EARLY DETECTION, UH, IN, WE HAVE A PROCESS IN WHICH WE ARE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE KNOW THAT STRENGTHENING THE PROTECTIONS, UH, WE ARE TURNING THE RESEARCH INTO STRONGER FIREFIGHTER PROTECTIONS ON HOW WE DO THINGS, THINGS AS THE FIRE CHIEF MENTIONED.
WHAT GEAR DO WE HAVE? WHAT ARE WE PUTTING OUT THERE? WHAT IS OUT THERE AND WHAT DO WE NEED THAT'S NOT OUT THERE YET.
WE NEED INNOVATION IN THE FIRE SERVICE, WHICH HAS NOT BEEN THERE IN QUITE A LONG TIME.
BUT WE ARE STARTING TO SEE A RESURGENCE IN THAT, AND WE WANT TO CAPITALIZE AND WE WANT TO BE ON THE FOREFRONT.
THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT BEING THE THIRD LARGEST DEPARTMENT, UM, I'LL TELL YOU, UH, IS KNOWN AS THE BEST OF THE BEST, THE MOST AGGRESSIVE, NOT RECKLESS, BUT AGGRESSIVE AS IN, UM, IF IT IS YOU OR YOUR FAMILY, PEOPLE WANT HOUSTON FIREFIGHTERS TO COME AND RESCUE YOU.
UM, WE WANT IT TO HELP GUIDE DECISIONS.
UH, OBVIOUSLY THAT'S GOING TO FOCUS ON INFORMING THE DECISIONS THAT WE MAKE, BUT ALSO THE POLICIES THAT WE HAVE MOVING FORWARD.
UM, OBVIOUSLY, UH, SO MANY OF YOU, UH, HAVE ALREADY, UH, BEEN SO HELPFUL AND SUPPORTIVE, BUT THE SUPPORT AND THE COORDINATION IS CRITICAL.
UH, PLEASE, UH, I AM UP IN AUSTIN, UM, EVERY DAY IT SEEMS LIKE, UM, DURING LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS AND THEN SOME.
UM, BUT I ENCOURAGE YOU, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COME UP, UH, TO COME UP AND, UH, WORK WITH US AND TO TALK TO THE LEGISLATORS AND TO BE A PART OF THAT, TO SUSTAIN PARTICIPATION, BECAUSE KNOWING THAT THERE'S A PROBLEM WITHOUT A SUSTAINED, UH, SOLUTION, UH, DOES NOTHING.
AND SO WE ARE GONNA CONTINUE TO STAY INFORMED, KEEP YOU INFORMED, BUT I THINK AS A BODY, UH, WITH ALL THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE GOING ON, ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE TO DEAL WITH, I THINK IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU KNOW HOW AMAZING OF, UH, PEOPLE AND FIREFIGHTERS AND TEAMS THAT YOU HAVE THAT YOU SHOULD BE VERY, VERY PROUD OF, THAT ARE DOING THIS, UH, TO REPRESENT NOT ONLY THE HOUSTON FIREFIGHTERS, THE CITY OF HOUSTON, BUT FIREFIGHTERS FROM AROUND THE STATE AND THE WORLD.
SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM.
UH, DR. WONG IS, UH, UP HERE AS WELL, SO IF THERE IS ANYTHING, WE'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM.
THANK YOU BOTH FOR THE PRESENTATION AND FOR THIS AMAZING WORK.
UM, WE WERE JOINED EARLIER IN THE PRESENTATION BY STAFF FROM COUNCILOR SALINAS'S OFFICE, JACKSON'S OFFICE, AND DAVIS'S OFFICE.
UM, FIRST UP IN THE QUEUE, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, THANK YOU, CHAIR.
THANK YOU MARTY AND DR. WONG, GREAT PRESENTATION, AND SO
[00:35:01]
HAPPY THIS WORK IS BEING DONE.ON SLIDE FOUR, WHEN YOU SAID THERE'S A NINE, UM, PERCENT KIND OF GREATER INCIDENTS WITH, UM, IN THE FIREFIGHTER POPULATION, WHAT'S THE, IN THE COHORT, THE GENERAL POPULATION, LIKE A REGULAR PERSON THAT'S NOT A FIREFIGHTER, WHAT, WHAT'S THEIR INCIDENCE OF CANCER? YES, THIS ONE.
UM, SINA
SO THIS STUDY ACTUALLY COMING FROM THE, UH, GOVERNMENT, UH, NIOSH, YOU KNOW, UNDER THE CDC, SO THEY LOOK AT THE, ACTUALLY SPECIFICALLY THIS FIREFIGHTER COHORT FROM THE THREE MAJOR CITIES, SAN SAN, UH, SAN FRANCISCO, CHICAGO, AND BOSTON.
AND THEN THEY LOOKING AT, UH, ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, GENERAL POPULATION AMONG THOSE THREE CITIES.
AND THEN THEY DE UH, THEY DETERMINE THESE NUMBERS, UH, BASED ON THEIR, UH, ESTIMATIONS.
SO I GUESS MAYBE IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT BEGAN, LIKE I WAS JUST, THERE'S A 9% GREATER INCIDENCE IN THOSE CITIES OF FIREFIGHTERS GETTING CANCER.
IF YOU'RE NOT A FIREFIGHTER, WHAT'S YOUR, LIKE, WHAT, 9% MORE THAN WHAT? SO LET'S SAY, YOU KNOW, THE FIREFIGHTER IS, UH, IS 9%, WHICH MEANS 1.09 OF THE CANCER RATES, CANCER INSTANCE RATES COMPARED TO THE GENERAL POPULATION IS SAY ONE.
SO THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY IT'S 9% COMPARED TO THE GENERAL POPULATION.
IT'S LIKELY TO GET THE CANCER INCIDENCE.
I WANTED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THAT.
AND ON YOUR SLIDE, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH ONE, WHERE YOU TALKED ABOUT BIOMAKER BIOMARKER BASED RISK SIGNALS THAT, UM, THAT CAN CHANGE, YOU CAN CHANGE THINGS BEFORE THEY GET SICK BEFORE THE DISEASE.
CAN YOU GIMME KIND OF AN EXAMPLE OF, OF THAT? YES.
I MEAN, I HEAR, WE ALL KNOW, HEAR ABOUT BIOMARKERS AND STUFF, BUT CAN YOU KIND OF BE SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT THAT COULD LOOK LIKE? RIGHT.
SO IN THE BIOMARKER, MEANING THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT THE, THEIR CELL LEVELS OF THE, THEIR BLOOD AND URINE LASER SAMPLE FROM THE NOSE AND SALIVA AND SOME SKIN DUMBER SAMPLES MM-HMM
SO WE ARE LOOKING AT THE VERY, UH, THE LOW LEVEL OF THE, YOU KNOW, DID THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, ALL THE, UH, BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES.
LET'S SAY, YOU KNOW, UM, MOLECULAR LEVELS, I'M SORRY, YEAH, MOLECULAR LEVELS OF THE DAIRY BIOMARKERS.
SO LET'S SAY FIRST TIME, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THE, UH, PROTEIN LEVELS, SO, AND THE DNA AND RNA, THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, UH, MIXED COMPONENTS.
SO THE PROTEIN ACTUALLY SHOWING THAT, UM, THIS IS RELATED TO THE CANCER.
AND THE OTHER PROTEIN IS RELATED TO THE, THEIR MENTAL HEALTH, LIKE ALZHEIMER'S.
SO THAT'S WHY WE ARE ABLE TO TEASE OUT ALL THOSE MOLECULAR LEVEL OF THE PROTEIN, D-N-A-R-N-A, METAGENOMICS, METABOLOMICS, MANY DIFFERENT WAYS OF THEIR BIOMARKERS USING THEIR BLOOD URINE, AND THEN SO ON.
SO WHAT, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? SOMEBODY HAS THAT BIOMARKER, WHAT, WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO CHANGE? SO SOMETHING, I MEAN, WHAT WOULD THEY DO OR, RIGHT.
SO LET'S SAY WE FOUND THE DOSE BIOMARKERS, THEN WE CAN INFORM THESE FIREFIGHTERS.
AND, UH, WE HAVE NOT DONE THAT THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL YET, BECAUSE WE ARE IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH, WE ARE WORKING WITH THE POPULATION LEVEL.
UH, SO WE HAVE NOT DONE THAT ONE YET.
HOWEVER, EVENTUALLY WE CAN INFORM THESE FIREFIGHTERS WHO HAVE DETECTED THOSE CANCER BIOMARKERS.
AND, UH, CHIEF TO YOUR POINT ABOUT WANTING TO SUPPORT AND MARTY TOO ABOUT WANTING TO SUPPORT THE FAMILIES.
UM, WHAT, WHAT DO WE CONSIDER AN, UH, AN ACTIVE FIREFIGHTER WHO DIES OF CANCER? THAT'S A LINE.
IS THAT A LINE OF DUTY, DEATH? I MEAN, HOW YES.
HOW DO WE CONSIDER THAT AND COMPENSATE? WELL, THE, UH, THROUGH A LOT OF WORK IN THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE NOW, IT'S, UM, PRETTY COMMON THROUGHOUT THE US BUT IT STARTED REALLY IN TEXAS, UH, WAS THE PRESUMPTIVE LAW FOR CANCER.
IT HAS BEEN A LONG, ARDUOUS PROCESS.
WE HAD A LOT OF ENTITIES WANTED TO FIGHT IT BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T WANT TO ACCEPT THAT, THAT THE 9% THAT SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT TOO.
UM, IN THE LEVELS, IF YOU LOOK AT A GENERAL POPULATION STARTS AT ZERO, RIGHT? UH, THEY'RE 9% HIGHER, BUT THE MORTALITY RATE 14%.
AND WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH CANCER, NINE PERCENT'S HUGE, AND 14% IS JUST OUTRAGEOUS.
UM, AND SO, UH, WHEN YOU'RE, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT, UH, THE RATES OF OCCUPATIONAL CANCER, WHAT WE HAVE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS NOW IS WE'VE IDENTIFIED 12 CANCERS, AND WE'RE HOPING TO GET MORE INCLUDED IN THERE TO
[00:40:01]
WHERE THE FAMILIES AND THOSE THAT HAVE DIED DON'T HAVE TO PROVE THAT THEY GOT IT FROM, UH, THE WORK AND THE CAR SIGNAGES THEY CAME INTO.AND SO IT, IT INVERTED, IT, IT ALLOWED THE FAMILIES TO GET THE PSOB PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER BENEFITS.
THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER BENEFITS.
AND THEN WE JUST RECENTLY, THROUGH WORK WITH OUR INTERNATIONAL FIREFIGHTERS HEADQUARTERS IN DC WE HAVE JUST NOW GOTTEN THE FEDERAL PSOB BENEFITS TO COVER OCCUPATIONAL CANCER.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE STEP IN AND WE BRIDGE THAT GAP, IS THE SECOND THAT THIS HAPPENS.
WE START THE PROCESS TO ENSURE THAT NOT ONLY, UH, ARE THOSE FIREFIGHTERS RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR SERVICE AND SACRIFICE, BUT THAT THEIR FAMILIES ARE TAKEN CARE OF FROM THE PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER BENEFIT PERSPECTIVE.
UH, BUT IT IS, UH, CATEGORIZED, CATEGORIZED AS A LINE OF DUTY DEATH, UH, BY LAW.
AND, AND THAT THOSE BENEFITS WOULD APPLY TO, UM, RETIRED AS WELL.
UH, A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, A LITTLE BIT NUANCED, BUT YES, IT IS CONSIDERED, I GUESS IT'S A MATTER OF MAYBE DEPENDS ON HOW LONG AFTER, YOU KNOW.
SO UNFORTUNATELY, WE'VE HAD A WHOLE LOT OF FIREFIGHTERS THAT HAVE LITERALLY RETIRED AND THEN YEAH.
THAT'S, THAT'S CONSIDERED THEY WOULDN'T BE ACTIVE 'CAUSE THEY'D BE RETIRED.
BUT IT IS A LINE OF DUTY, UH, WHICH COVERS THE BENEFITS.
WE ARE, UH, THAT'S WHERE WE NEED EVERYBODY AND THEIR HELP ADVOCATING FOR THIS, BECAUSE THIS IS ONE OF THE CHALLENGES.
IT TOOK YEARS AND YEARS, UM, IN CONGRESS, BUT WE GOT IT DONE.
EVERYBODY KNEW, AND YOU SAW AT NINE 11 WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FIREFIGHTERS AFTERWARDS WAS THEY WERE COMING DOWN WITH CANCER AND DYING AT A RATE THAT WAS JUST UNHEARD OF.
AND THAT WAS FROM THE CARCINOGENS, UH, AT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER, INCLUDING THOSE THAT CAME, UH, EVEN FROM HOUSTON, THAT WERE PART OF THE URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAMS THAT HAVE GONE UP, UH, TO BE A PART OF THE RECOVERY.
UH, THEY WERE CATCHING CANCER AT A RATE.
THAT'S WHERE YOU'VE SEEN A WHOLE LOT OF FEDERAL LEGISLATION, AND THAT'S WHERE YOU'VE SEEN ON THE STATEWIDE, UH, LEGISLATORS LIKE, UH, CHAIR PATTERSON, CHAIR HALL, OTHERS WHO HAVE CHAMPIONED, UM, THIS AS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE BENEFITS ARE THERE FOR THEIR FAMILIES.
AND ALSO THEY'RE CATEGORIZED THAT WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WHICH COMES WITH A SEPARATE FIREFIGHTER RELIEF AND RETIREMENT FUND.
SO WHAT ARE THE TOP CANCERS THAT THEY GET? LUNG, OBVIOUSLY, AND THEN WHAT, WHAT ARE LIKE A COUPLE OTHERS? YEAH.
RIGHT NOW IN HERE IN TEXAS, NUMBER ONE IS LIKE SKIN CANCER SKIN.
SKIN CANCER IS THAT NUMBER ONE.
AS I SHOWED YOU THE, THE, THE CHART AMONG THE 100, UH, CASES, ACCORDING TO THE T UH, TEXAS COMMISSION DATABASES 50, UH, EXTRA SKIN CANCER, WHICH IS 50% OF THE SKIN IS BASED ON THE SKIN, AND THE OTHER IS PROSTATE CANCER AND, UH, TESTICULAR CANCER AND BREAST CANCER AND SO ON.
SO LUNG AND, BUT IS I THINK LUNG LIKE, JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE BREATHING IN AND STUFF, BUT THAT'S NOT REALLY, IT IS NOT BECAUSE, UH, I WAS ALWAYS VERY SURPRISED WHEN I SAW THAT ALL THE INFORMATION AND THE OTHER LITERATURE REVIEWS BECAUSE THEY WEAR ON THE SCBA, WHICH IS YOU RESPIRATORS.
SO THAT'S WHY THE, ANOTHER EXPOSURE ROUTE, WHICH IS THE DUMBER EXPOSURE, THAT IS THE NUMBER ONE AL CANCER, UH, CAUSING, YEAH.
SO THE FIRE FIREFIGHTER GEAR COUNCIL MEMBER.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S MEANT FOR THERMAL PROTECTION.
UM, AND SO WHAT, WHAT WE HAVE SEEN AND WHAT, UM, THE DOCKER HAS, UH, KIND OF ALLUDED TO IS EVERYTHING THAT WE ARE DEALING WITH WHEN WE'RE GOING IN THESE HOT ENVIRONMENTS, IT'S CEMENT, UH, TO PROTECT US FROM, FROM THE HEAT.
WE HAVE THE SCBAS, BUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IS IT IS ABSORBING INTO THE SKIN.
AND SO WHEN YOU NOT ONLY HAVE THE GEAR ON, BUT ALSO THE, UM, THE THINGS THAT ARE CATCHING FIRE IN, EVEN WHEN THEY'RE OUT THE OFFGASSING, THAT'S EVEN WORSE.
THAT'S WHERE IT'S BEING ABSORBED INTO THE SKIN, WHERE YOU'RE SEEING, UH, FOR THE MALES, THE TESTICULAR CANCER, UH, YOU'RE SEEING PROSTATE CANCER, YOU'RE SEEING, UH, NOT ONLY SKIN CANCER, BUT UH, A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CANCERS.
AND THOSE AT ARE EVEN HIGHER RATE, I BELIEVE, UH, THAN THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS GREAT WORK.
UM, REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYTHING Y'ALL DO.
UH, AND I THINK YOU'VE KIND OF ANSWERED ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD EARLIER, THE 9% YOU TOOK THE CITIES WHERE YOU WERE STUDYING THE FIREFIGHTERS, AND YOU ALSO TOOK THOSE CITIES POPULATION CANCER RATES.
I THINK IT WAS, UH, THE ORIGINAL CDC NIOSH WAS THE FIRST METADATA STUDY THAT WAS DONE.
THAT WAS REALLY, THAT OPENED THE EYES, AND THAT WAS DONE A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO THAT KIND OF SET THE COURSE FOR EVERYTHING.
AND I BELIEVE IT'S THE GENERAL POPULATION IN GENERAL, UH, AS OPPOSED TO, UH, I COULD BE WRONG, UH, UNLESS YOU KNOW THAT, YEAH.
THAT IS, UH, COMING FROM THE GENERAL POPULATION.
HMONG DO THE THREE CITIES, AS I MENTIONED.
THOSE CITIES, IT'S NOT IN THAT CITY, NATIONWIDE IN THOSE CITIES.
NOW YOU'VE HAD QUITE A FEW PEOPLE, UH, BE WILLING TO JOIN
[00:45:01]
THE STUDY.WHAT KIND OF OBSTACLES DO YOU GET FROM PEOPLE THAT HAVE NOT JOINED THE STUDY? I MEAN, I WOULD THINK THIS WOULD BE A GOOD THING FOR EVERYBODY, AND THE BIGGER THE NUMBERS YOU COULD GET, THE BETTER, BETTER THE DATA.
WELL, MUCH, I, I CAN AKIN THIS TO, AND I'LL LET THE DOCTOR RESPOND AS WELL, IS AKIN IT TO KINDA LIKE A, A POLITICAL POLL, RIGHT? MM-HMM
IT'S, YOU'RE TAKING A SAMPLING.
UM, AND THE NUMBER 700 IS ALREADY HUGE.
IN THE WORLD OF RESEARCH, AND THE FACT THAT WE ARE ON TRACK TO GET A THOUSAND IS PRETTY UNHEARD OF.
AND SO IT'S A PRODUCT OF, UH, THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE TO GO AND COLLECT SAMPLES FROM EVERYBODY IN THE BEGINNING.
YOU HAVE TO GO AND GET ALL OF THEIR INFORMATION.
AND THEN DURING THE COURSE OF THIS STUDY, EVERY TIME THAT THEY'RE GOING TO A FIRE, THEY'RE HAVING TO THEN GET SAMPLES TO THE LAB WITHIN TWO HOURS.
SO THIS IS AN ONGOING COLLECTION.
AND SO IT, I DON'T THINK, I THINK IF YOU EXPANDED IT, IT'S A, A I THINK IT'S A, A COST ISSUE, BUT ALSO A SPAN OF CONTROL.
I THINK WE WOULD FIND WAY MORE FIREFIGHTERS WANNA BE A PART OF IT.
BUT WE ARE DEALING WITH, IN THE RESEARCH TEAM THAT I MENTIONED THAT CAME LAST WEEK, THEY'RE ALL OVER.
WE HAD TO IDENTIFY WHERE THESE, UH, INSTITUTIONS WERE, WHERE WE COULD TAKE THE, UM, UH, TAKE ALL THE SAMPLES AFTER EVERY FIRE, UH, THEY'RE USING TAPE TO SEE THE ABSORPTION RATES.
THOSE HAVE TO GET TO A SECURE PLACE.
SO THAT'S HAVING TO BE DONE ALL AROUND TEXAS.
AND SO I THINK IT'S A PRODUCT OF, UH, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY RESEARCH TEAM ACROSS THE STATE.
IN THIS STATE, OUR TEXAS, WE ARE DOING ONE AS FAR AS I KNOW, TO HAVE THIS SUCH A, SO COMPREHENSIVE, YOU KNOW, EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT AND OCCUPATIONAL EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY.
THE OTHER STATES, UH, THERE IS A
UM, ONE OF THE OBSTACLES, WHAT WE ACTUALLY FACING IS SUCH A NUMBER ONE IS A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY DESIGN.
UM, AND THEN NUMBER TWO IS ACTUALLY, UM, OUR TEAM HAS TO BE DEPLOYED AND VISIT THE ORDER THEIR FIRE STATIONS ACROSS THE ENTIRE STATES.
WE ARE NOW ONLY WORKING WITH THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THEN, YOU KNOW, AIR PASO AND BROWN SPEAR AND THEN EVERYBODY.
AND PLUS THIS IS A LONG UDAL STUDY, SO WE NEED TO ACTUALLY COMING BACK AND FORTH, UH, MULTIPLE TIMES.
ACTUALLY, UH, UM, UH, THE CAPTAIN DOMINGUEZ IS SITTING THERE AND
SO KEEPING UP THESE SUCH A LARGE COHORT STUDY IS, UH, DEFINITELY ONE OF THE KIND AND, UH, ESPECIALLY FOR THE HERE IN TEXAS.
SO AFTER EVERY FIRE, DID THE INDIVIDUALS IN THE STUDY FIGHT WITHIN FOUR HOURS, YOU'RE COLLECTING SAMPLES? YES.
SO HOW WE DESIGNED THE STUDY WORKING WITH THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE A BUNCH OF THE MENT IN OUR LAB AT THE UT HEALTH.
WE BRING OUR RESEARCHERS BRING TO THE, THE FIRE GROUND JUST LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, HOUSTON FIREFIGHTERS.
UH, SO WHEN, ONCE WE HAVE THE, YOU KNOW, DISPATCH NINE ONE ONE CALL OUR TEAM ALSO, YOU KNOW, GOING TO THE FIRE GROUND AT THE SAME TIME.
AND THEN WE SET UP THE, HOLD OUR EQUIPMENT, TRY TO SEE WHAT IS THE CAUTIONS FROM THE FIRE SMOKE, AND WE LOOK AT THE MULTIPLE DIFFERENT WAY OF THE MA UH, EXPOSURE MATRICES, LIKE ERROR OR, YOU KNOW, NUMBERS, ERRORS OR CONCENTRATIONS AND WHAT IS THE COUNT.
SO THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT WAYS OF THE EXPOSURE MATRICES TO SEE, UH, THE CARCINOGEN.
AND THEN, UM, YEAH, SO WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WORKING WITH THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT ON A DAILY BASIS.
OUR, ANOTHER RESEARCH TEAM RIGHT NOW, UH, THEY ARE NOW STANDBY BY ACTUALLY TO SEE, TO WAIT FOR THE, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, EMERGENCY FIRE CALL RIGHT NOW.
STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ'S OFFICE.
THANK YOU CHAIR, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ WANTED ME TO EXPRESS STRONG SUPPORT FOR, FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING HERE.
UH, MY QUESTION IS, IN ADDITION TO THE IMPORTANT, UH, BENEFITS THAT COULD COME TO FIREFIGHTERS, UH, ARE THERE POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO OTHER, UH, OCCUPATIONAL, UH, UH, CATEGORIES, ENERGY, UH, ET CETERA, OR, OR TO, UH, UH, POPULATION IN GENERAL? YEAH.
ANOTHER, UH, ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS.
UH, ACTUALLY I'M ALSO RELATED WITH THE VA HOSPITAL, UH, HERE IN HOUSTON BECAUSE OF THE MILITARY FIREFIGHTERS, NOT ONLY
[00:50:01]
FOR THE MILITARY FIREFIGHTERS, BUT ALSO MILITARIES OR THEIR VETERANS AND SO ON, BECAUSE WHEN THEY DEPLOY TO THE WAR ZONE, THEY ALSO HAVE, YOU KNOW, OPEN BOND PIT, UH, DURING THE WAR.SO THAT'S WHY WE ALSO VERY CLOSELY LOOKING AT, WITH THE VA HOSPITAL TEAM, RESEARCH TEAM, TO SEE HOW THEIR EXPOSURE FROM THE ANOTHER SMOKE, UH, IS ACTUALLY AFFECTING TO THEIR, ANOTHER HEALTH, NOT ONLY FOR THE CANCER, WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, NEURO DEGENERATION OR DEGENERATIVE OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE HEALTH OUTCOMES AS WELL.
SO NUMBER ONE IS ABSOLUTELY FIREFIGHTERS IS OUR RADAR.
STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER'S OFFICE.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THE HARD WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING ON THIS STUDY.
UM, I JUST HAD A QUESTION LOOKING AT SLIDE FOUR, UM, WITH THE GRAPH OR FOR THE CHART ON, UH, TEXAS FIREFIGHTERS DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER, UM, GOING FROM, YOU KNOW, 19 FIREFIGHTERS DIAGNOSED IN 2019 TO A HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWENTY FOUR, SEEING THAT PRETTY STEADILY INCREASE YEAR AFTER YEAR.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY THOUGHTS AS TO WHY THAT'S INCREASING? IS THAT JUST THAT THERE'S MORE FIREFIGHTERS IN THE POPULATION OR THAT THERE'S MORE CARCINOGENS OR MORE WILDFIRES? LIKE, DO WE HAVE ANY THOUGHTS AS TO WHAT IS CAUSING THAT STEADY INCREASE YEAR AFTER YEAR? YES, THAT'S A ABSOLUTELY IMPORTANT QUESTION AS WELL, BECAUSE, UH, OVER THE MANY YEARS, ESPECIALLY THE, OVER THE, MAYBE I WILL SAY, YOU KNOW, 15 OR UH, OVER 20 YEARS AGO, UM, I MEAN THAT ALL THE BURNING MATERIALS HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY CHANGED IN THESE DAYS.
THERE ARE MORE SYNTHETIC MATERIALS HAS BEEN USING BY THE NOT ONLY INDUSTRY, BUT ALSO OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR HOME AS WERE SO BACK THEN, MAYBE 1950 OR 1970, EIGHTIES, YOU KNOW, ALL THE MATERIALS IN OUR HOME.
IT'S JUST THE PURE, YOU KNOW, THE WOOD OR SOME OTHER, YOU KNOW, UM, SIMPLE MATERIALS FROM THE NATURE.
BUT WE ARE EVOLVING ALL THE DIFFERENT CHEMICAL COMPOSITIONS AND GENERATING TONS OF TONS OF CHEMICALS.
SO THAT'S WHY IN EVEN OUR HOUSE, WE ARE EXPOSED TO THE VC, WHICH IS ANOTHER TYPE OF THE, UH, CARCINOGENICS.
SO THAT'S NUMBER ONE REASONS, YEAH.
BURNING MATERIALS HAS BEEN EVOLVED IN MANY NEGATIVE WAYS.
AND NUMBER TWO IS WE CAN ACTUALLY HAVE, YOU KNOW, PROTECTION EARLIER.
HOWEVER, WE ACTUALLY IGNORE THOSE, YOU KNOW, PRACTICES.
UH, I WAS VERY SURPRISED TO ACTUALLY SEE THAT THIS IS NOT A TEXAS FIREFIGHTERS, UH, THIS IS FROM THE MANY YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS WORKING A DIFFERENT STATE.
UH, ONE OF THE FIRE CHIEF ACTUALLY SHOWED ME HIS HELMET AND HAS SUCH A SUIT, DARK AND, YOU KNOW, UH, COMPLETELY DIRTY.
AND HE SHOWED ME THAT, UH, LOOK AT THIS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS MY, YOU KNOW, THE HONOR OF THE BATCH, YOU KNOW, FOR THE, YOU KNOW, DIRTY HELMET.
I NEVER WATCHED THIS, MY HELMET, AND IN MY ENTIRE SERVICE OVER MAYBE 20, 30 YEARS, YOU KNOW, HE ACTUALLY SHOWED ME THAT THIS IS, UH, HIS BADGE OF HONOR TO SHOW THAT SUCH A LOT OF EXPERIENCES WORKING AT THE FIRE GROUND AND THE FIRE SUPPRESSION THAT IS TOTALLY WRONG, ACTUALLY.
WE HAVE TO CLEAN UP ALL THOSE, YOU KNOW, DIRTY AND REMAINING ANY CARCINOGEN FROM THEIR GEARS, HELMETS AND EVERYTHING, RIGHT? SO WE ACTUALLY, AS ONE OF THE RESEARCHER, WE HAVE NEGLECTED THOSE, YOU KNOW, EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR THE FIREFIGHTERS.
JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, FIREFIGHTERS, YOU KNOW, SERVE FOR THE, YOU KNOW, OUR COMMUNITY.
AS ONE OF THE RESEARCHER AT THE UT HEART, OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO SERVE FOR THE FIREFIGHTERS WHO ARE ACTUALLY HELPING US.
THAT'S VERY HELPFUL TO HEAR FROM YOU.
AND, UH, I'LL ADD, UH, TO WHAT DR. WONG SAID, ONE FINAL PIECE.
IT'S, I, I WOULD AKIN IT TO THE WAY THAT YOU LOOK AT THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
IF YOU WORK PRIVATE SECTOR IN A HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENT, YOU GO IN THERE AND THE SECOND THAT YOU GET OUT, UM, EVERYTHING IS REMOVED, EVERYTHING IS CLEAN PROFESSIONALLY, EVERY SINGLE TIME, BECAUSE THAT'S THE RISK OF THE SAFETY AND THE, AND THE RISK OF THE HEALTH.
UM, IT HAS TAKEN A LONG TIME TO START FOCUSING ON THAT TO, UH, THE PUBLIC SECTOR.
AND WE ALWAYS COME WITH, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S PROBLEMS, BUT WE TRY TO BE, UH, PARTNERS IN THE SOLUTIONS AS WELL.
AND THAT'S WHERE OUR CHARITABLE FOUNDATION STARTED YEARS AGO ON STARTING TO PURCHASE GEAR WASHERS AT THE STATIONS BECAUSE, UH, WHAT IT USED TO BE WHEN WE DIDN'T HAVE SYNTHETIC PLASTICS, WHEN WE HAD HEAVY TIMBER, IF YOU LOOK AT 1950S HOMES, WHAT DOCTOR WAS TALKING ABOUT, IT WOULD TAKE HOURS FOR IT TO BURN.
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AND WE HAVE FOUND A WAY TO MAKE IT CHEAPER.WE HAVE FOUND A WAY TO MAKE THINGS, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY MORE COST EFFECTIVE, BUT IF, IF YOU LOOK AT IT FROM THE, THE HOMES BEING BUILT, IF, IF IT'S BUILT IN A CERTAIN WAY, IT IS STRUCTURALLY THE SAME AS WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN THE 1950S, EXCEPT WHEN IT CATCHES FIRE.
SO IT BECOMES STRUCTURALLY LESS, UH, IT FAILS VERY, VERY QUICKLY.
BUT IN THE SAME THING FOR FURNITURE AND EVERYTHING YOU SEE AROUND US, IT'S EVERY COMPONENT OF THESE SYNTHETICS.
THE SECOND THAT YOU PUT FIRE TO IT, IT IS, THAT'S WHY IT'S SUCH BLACK SMOKE.
IF YOU WOULD THINK ABOUT IT AS KIDS, WE WOULD SEE A TIRE BURNING ALONG THE FREEWAY AND YOU WOULD SEE HOW BLACK THE SMOKE WAS.
THE DARKER THE SMOKE, THE WORSE IT IS.
AND THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE WITH, UM, ALL THE PLASTICS AND SYNTHETICS.
ALRIGHT, I DON'T SEE ANYONE ELSE IN THE QUEUE.
AGAIN, THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION AND FOR ALL OF THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
UM, WE DID NOT HAVE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKER SIGN UP.
IS THERE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE THAT WANTED TO SAY ANYTHING? ALRIGHT, SEEING NO ONE, WE WILL ADJOURN THE MEETING.
UM, OUR NEXT PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH AT 10:00 AM AND WE STAND ADJOURNED.