Matthew Murray, supervisor of the Code Compliance Enforcement Section at the Department of Fire Services, and Joseph Townsend, a former firefighter and current code compliance officer, told the joint committee that their small unit responds to fatal fires, hazardous-material incidents and explosives investigations that expose members to known carcinogens and acute traumatic scenes.

Murray said his five-person unit investigates nearly all fatal fires in the Commonwealth and routinely works in environments with “over 100 known carcinogens in smoke.” He described repeated exposures, the difficulty of decontaminating gear and the risk that toxins are carried into personal vehicles and homes. Murray said several colleagues developed cancer and that one commanding officer died after becoming sick from job-related exposures.

Townsend described walking burned structures, meeting grieving families and entering unsafe buildings and hazardous sites, arguing these duties mirror the risks faced by on-scene firefighters and should be recognized through Group 4 retirement protections. Both witnesses asked the committee to report House Bill 2786 favorably and to consider inclusion in presumptive cancer and heart-and-lung protections for public-safety retirees.

Ending: Committee members thanked the witnesses; no committee action was recorded during this segment of the hearing.