A new state law will provide cancer screenings for firefighters, and require cities to pay for them.
The Wade Cannon Act goes into effect on June 1, 2026.
As a firefighter with the Mission fire Department, Homer Salinas said there are the dangers you can see, and others you can't.
“We go into the unknown and there are chemicals that will go into your body and never come out. You do get exposed to that constantly when you fight fires,” Salinas said.
Salinas is a kidney cancer survivor. In 2019, he sued the city's insurer for worker's compensation benefits. His claims were originally denied, but he won after a lengthy legal battle.
“It was a big struggle — not only when you are told you have cancer, but the mental on it, the finances, the worries, and everything just goes through your b