Glasgow firefighter’s widow campaigning for safer conditions after husband was 'exposed to toxic substances'

The widow of a firefighter who died of lung cancer believes he was exposed to “toxic substances” and was not protected throughout his career.

Jeff Simpson, an award-winning firefighter, father-of-four, and grandfather-of-two from Glasgow, died aged 69 only 20 hours after being diagnosed in April.

His widow Anne Davies believes exposure to toxic substances and a lack of protection and insufficient health monitoring in his job may have contributed to his late-stage cancer diagnosis and sudden passing.

“The information I found shocked me, and the more I researched, the more potential evidence I found that there could have been a direct link between Jeff’s role in the fire service, and his subsequent lung cancer diagnosis and premature death,” she said.

“Jeff was an active and healthy man throughout most of his life. He never smoked. He played football socially until he was in his late 40s. He was an avid hiker, and once cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

Anne said her husband was one of the fittest firefighters in the brigade. peopleofprominence via Supplied

“He would come home from his health assessments whilst in the fire service and tell me that he was one of the fittest firefighters in the brigade, and that the assessor had told him that he should live longer than the majority of his work colleagues.”

Jeff became a firefighter in 1983, initially working for the London Fire Brigade, and was awarded the Chief Officer’s Commendation and the Priory of Scotland St John’s bronze medal for gallantry, after saving a 14-year-old boy who had fallen through the ice in the London Docks.

After Jeff and Anne met in London, the couple moved to Sheffield, where Jeff joined the South Yorkshire Brigade, where he remained working for the Sheffield Fire Brigade until his retirement in Winter 2017.

In 2018, Jeff developed a cough which was diagnosed as interstitial lung disease.

Over the following years, Jeff suffered from breathlessness, and in April 2024, he was ordered to go to hospital due to low sodium levels. He was given intravenous antibiotics, oxygen and a CT scan.

The CT scan had shown that he had lung cancer, which had spread to his liver and lymph nodes. They were told that there was no treatment option, and on Thursday, April 11, – 20 hours later – Jeff died in hospital in Anne’s arms.

“When Jeff was diagnosed with interstitial lung disease in 2018, I feel insufficient weight was given to the probability that this had been caused by exposure to toxic substances, probably carcinogens”, Anne said.

“I also feel these risk factors should have made lung cancer a regular consideration for Jeff’s medical team. However, regular testing to exclude the existence of lung cancer was never conducted.

“Jeff was a kind, calm and gentle man and had three loves in life. His family, football, and the fire service. He took his job very seriously, he had an exemplary sickness record, never missing a shift unless he was genuinely ill.”

He had a 35-year career in the fire service. Supplied

Anne has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the risks of duty, increase safety for firefighters, and ensure those currently serving in the service are aware of the steps they can take to protect themselves.

As part of the campaign, she is encouraging all active and former firefighters to write to their GP to ask that their profession is recorded on their medical records, and for them to request regular health monitoring to identify early signs of lung damage and potential cancer.

“There is, for example, currently no UK requirement for PPE to protect against toxic gases and particulates,” Anne said.

“I also do not believe that the health screening he was offered by his employers were sufficient and should have included more consideration of his attendance at fire incidents and the likelihood of exposure to toxins and the long-term effect of this exposure.

“Jeff was a lifelong campaigner, socialist and trade unionist, and was concerned that everybody should be treated with equality, respect and fairness.

“If Jeff’s passing can help raise awareness and drive change for other firefighters, and stop their families’ losing a loved one too soon like we have, I know he would be extremely proud.”

Anne is launching a campaign in Jeff's name. — Anne is launching a campaign in Jeff’s name. peopleofprominence via Supplied

A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said: “Firstly, our thoughts go out to Anne and all of the family and friends of Jeff Simpson for their tragic loss. Jeff was a valued member of our team at South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue and retired after many years of meritorious service.

“South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue see the health and safety of its employees as a top priority. Steps have been taken to ensure the service is aware of all research around the potential risks from fire contaminants – the substances released by burning. This is taken very seriously to ensure firefighters are protected and health effects are reduced.

“Preventing exposure to fire contaminants is extremely important and numerous steps have been taken to reduce the risk. The service provides the very best respiratory protection and protective clothing for firefighters. Risk from fire contaminants has been assessed and a Fire Contaminants Policy has been published, this includes procedures to prevent exposure. Where contamination is unavoidable procedures are in place to ensure firefighters are decontaminated effectively. Respiratory protective equipment, protective clothing, vehicles and firefighting equipment are thoroughly cleaned following fire incidents to reduce the risks from potentially harmful substances.

“The respiratory protective equipment, protective clothing, procedures and training provided to firefighters has improved greatly over the past decades, providing firefighters with a greater level of protection from harmful substances.

“All operational personnel are encouraged to notify their GP of their profession to aid in the early detection and diagnosis of ill health. The service has a dedicated Occupational Health Team and a Health Surveillance Scheme in place to continuously monitor the health of firefighters throughout their career.

“Work to educate operational personnel about this issue is ongoing and the service will continue to embed national guidance and learning into working practices and training.”

Craig McGoldrick, assistant chief officer for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We are committed to ensuring the safety of our firefighters and decontamination is a priority.

“The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is investing around £3.2m to improve the management of fire contaminants.

“This investment follows extensive partnership work with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and we’ll continue to work alongside the FBU and leading academic researchers to mitigate and address the risk to our firefighters and the public.”

Sheffield and London fire service have been contacted for comment.