By Scott Ishikawa and Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writers
The Honolulu Fire Department has started voluntary testing among its firefighters to detect exposure to tuberculosis but it is asking the city for mandatory annual testing.
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| Fire Chief Attilio Leonardi said that filing of compensation claims is not unusual. |
The voluntary testing started in February, a month after three firefighters said they tested positive for TB after being exposed while on duty, according to a memo circulating in the department
The three-page memo says three firefighters assigned to the ‘Ewa Beach station tested positive for TB. According to the memo, the city workers’ compensation program has refused to accept the claim.
Tom Vendetta, chief of the city’s Industrial Safety and Worker’s Compensation Division, said he could not comment on any specific cases because of employee confidentiality, but he said claims dealing with communicable diseases are usually held pending further investigation.
"Under workers’ compensation, exposure to contagious diseases is not a compensible injury, unless it manifests into an illness," Vendetta said. "It’s also meant for recordkeeping purposes, because if it turns into something, then we would re-evaluate it."
Fire Chief Attilio Leonardi said testing positive for exposure to TB does not necessarily mean the person has the disease. Additional testing is needed to confirm that. He added that it is not very unusual for firefighters to file workers’ compensation claims for TB.
"Firefighters have always filed claims for TB," Leonardi said. "Every time someone believes that were exposed to TB, they always file to document it. It’s pretty standard for workers’ comp."
Leonardi said the voluntary TB testing that started last month was not in reaction to the memo. He said the department has hired an independent consultant to help firefighters seeking information on TB testing, because of their potential exposure to the disease during medical emergencies.
The department has put in a request for mandatory annual TB testing with the city Department of Human Resources, Leonardi said.
Leonardi said he did not know which of the 15 firefighters assigned to the ‘Ewa Beach station allegedly tested positive for TB, or whether any have been placed on sick leave.
"That is an issue to be decided between the firefighter and his doctor," Leonardi said.
The circulated memo states that the firefighters who said they tested positive responded to a Jan. 11 alarm in the ‘Ewa Beach area for a woman with difficulty breathing. After firefighters tended to her, emergency medical technicians who arrived later suggested a check of whether she had an illness, because she appeared to be housed away from the rest of the family, the memo said.
The memo says that the woman had TB, and the three firefighters later tested positive for exposure to the disease.
Leonardi said determining whether a firefighter contracted a contagious disease on the job may be more difficult than detecting whether he or she suffered a physical injury. "On these type of cases, it could take the city between six months to one year to complete an investigation," the chief said.
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