Firefighters in Casa Grande received concerning test results when nearly half of a hazmat team tested for elevated levels of arsenic during their annual heavy metal testing. None of the seven firefighters knew they had high levels of the naturally occurring chemical that can cause cancer. Six of the seven are stationed at the same firehouse in Casa Grande. “That was our immediate concern that something in the station was doing this,” said Casa Grande Fire Department Chief Dave Kean.
Kean said he gave bottled water to the team and paid an independent lab to test the water at the firehouse. The results obtained by Arizona’s Family came back clean. Now, he’s trying to find the link between firefighters with arsenic in their system. “We are doing some, lack of a better term, contact tracing,” he said.