Shawn O’Shell said the death of his good friend and fellow Jacksonville Beach firefighter, Capt. Ronnie Rabon, is a weight on those working for the department citing "the dangers of the job and how important early detection is with cancer,"
O’Shell is secretary of the Jacksonville Beach Firefighters Union.
He jumped at the opportunity for a free cancer screening from Cancer Dogs.
The company’s canines are trained to sniff out the odor of all types of cancer present in a person’s breath.
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“All we really have to do is wear a mask for 10 minutes, package it back up, sent it to them – no obligation, no cost to the city,” O’Shell said.
He was surprised when the fire chief responded by saying the city would not endorse the practice.
“To deny this is just disturbing to our guys. Our guys are wondering why the city wouldn’t support something as important as a cancer screening that is free," Shell said.
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In March, Action News Jax reporter Amber Krycka pressed the chief about why it took community fundraising to get cancer-blocking hoods for the crews.
Chief David Whitmill said, “You tend to prioritize. Not to say we put our firefighters behind other things, but we are buying other safety equipment for them as well. It's a constant battle for funding."
On Friday, the city manager refused an interview with Action News Jax.
He sent an explanation for the decision, which read:
According to O’Shell, those aren’t good enough reasons.
He said, “Even if it caught one person out of 100, that’s good. That’s one person that might be able to fight cancer early and get through it.”