Diverse Outlook
The Evanston Fire Department is partnering with local nonprofit Shield 23 to raise money to support firefighters diagnosed with career-related cancer.
Shield 23 was founded in 2018 by friends and family of Russell Constantino, a 20-year veteran of the Gurnee Fire Department who died from brain cancer in 2009. The nonprofit’s name comes from Russell’s badge number, 23.
Shenan and Ryan Constantino, his wife and son, started the nonprofit to give back and make sure no other family had to struggle the way they did. Ryan was 14 when his father died, during a time when the links between firefighting and cancer were not known.
Due to the cancer, Russell Constantino was unable to work during the later period of his illness, leaving his wife and two children without medical coverage. Workers comp claims were dismissed when Russell died as well, leading to increased financial stress on the family.
“I remember towards the end when my dad passed away, I didn’t find this out until later, but my mom said that we had about $200,000 in debt and we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to keep the house,” he said.
Without the support from the Gurnee Fire Department, the family would have been in even worse shape, he said.
Karla Cutting, a volunteer with Shield 23, lost her husband Andy to job-related cancer on Jan. 20, 2023 after a five-month battle and 22 years with the Skokie Fire Department. Karla described him as a “superstar” who wore many hats with the department including paramedic, firefighter and engineer; in addition, he would cook meals for his colleagues at the station.
Andy worked as a volunteer firefighter in his native Australia, a connection he made watching his grandfather fight fires. Karla and Andy met at a pub in Chicago while he was backpacking around the world.
“If you would have told me back then that I was gonna marry some rogue Australian wannabee firefighter I would’ve said you’re crazy,” Karla said.
The couple was married for nearly 25 years when he died. Representatives from Shield 23 came to a fundraiser for Andy hosted by the Skokie Fire Department, a welcome surprise, according to his wife.
“When they helped us out as they did, it’s the right thing to do to pay it forward,” she said. “It was a pleasant surprise and shock. We were like ‘oh my God, these people don’t even know us and they are completely reaching out to help us. Without even asking.’”
The nonprofit has raised over a quarter million dollars and gifted over $100,000 in the four years since gifting began.
Shield 23 works beyond financial gifts, also providing mental health support and education for firefighters and their families on how to navigate pension systems or legal help to receive benefits.
Studies beginning in 2017 have found PFAS, a type of forever chemical known to cause cancer, in protective gear worn by firefighters. When this gear is heated, it can release these chemicals into the air where firefighters then breathe them in, or they leach into firefighters’ skin.
According to Ryan Constantino, firefighters have a 9% higher risk of getting cancer and a 14% higher risk of dying from duty-related cancer.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer, under the World Health Organization, has since classified carcinogens firefighters are routinely exposed to into the same category as those encountered by coal miners.
“Firefighting not only is dangerous in the everyday things that we do and what we’re exposed to but now it’s (cancer) becoming the leading cause of death for firefighters,” Ryan Constantino said.
Ryan has since followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming a firefighter in Wauconda, and compares the job to joining the military.
“I’ve been a firefighter/paramedic now for 11 years and I still think it’s the best job in the world regardless of the risks that are inherently out there,” he said. “It’s definitely a calling, that’s for sure.”
Evanston Firefighter Tim Gobat has organized fundraisers for the department for 15 years alongside his 21 years of service at the Evanston Fire Department and 25 years as a firefighter. He always wanted to be a firefighter since the day his father took him to his local department.
“It was fire department or bust for me from that point on,” Gobat said. “Being a firefighter is the best job in the world, the greatest job in the world. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”
Gobat recalls Andy’s passing, saying whenever a fellow firefighter dies from an illness related to having the “greatest job in the world”, it becomes a reality check.
The incorporation of more synthetic materials in construction also leads to increased cancer risks, according to Gobat. These structures burn hotter and faster while releasing toxins into the air.
Karla Cutting hopes to help spread the word of Shield 23’s work to make as large an impact as possible. Ryan recently flew out to New York state and presented a financial gift to a volunteer firefighter who is also battling duty-related cancer.
“It comes at a time when you’re pretty much unhinged. You’re dealing with a life-threatening illness, not knowing what the outcome may be,” Karla Cutting said. “To be able to have that kind of, without even asking, that type of support come your way, it’s incredibly meaningful.”
The fundraiser is being held at Firehouse Grill in Evanston on Saturday, April 6 from 4 to 10 p.m. Tickets cost $50 at the door and include an appetizer buffet, well drinks and live music by Darryl Markette and Chicago Garda Pipes and Drums. Part of the admission fees, raffle ticket proceeds and 50/50 sales will go to benefit the foundation.
Anyone interested in getting involved can reach Shield 23 at awareness@shield23foundation.org or on their website at shield23foundation.org.
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