WHEN Anthony Pearce picked up his newspaper early yesterday morning, he was hit by a bombshell.Reports in metropolitan media detailed nine deaths could be linked to chemical burn-offs at the CFA training facility in Fiskville, a site often frequented by the current Ballarat City Fire Brigade senior station officer.The reports reveal at least 17 former workers and their families who lived at the base during the 1970s and 1980s have developed cancers that can be linked to chemicals stored and used there. It also claims that the CFA never told people of the risks associated with the burn-offs.Mr Pearce regularly visited his father at the training facility as a child in the early and mid 1980s, and now questions whether he is at risk.“It’s certainly concerning in regards to the effect it may have had on me and the other people involved,” Mr Pearce said.“(I have) memories of the facilities and memories of seeing people who had actively been involved with training covered from head to toe in black soot and residue.“You attribute that just down to smoke and stuff, but when you start reading these articles, you start to question if that smoke was from burning stuff that’s potentially toxic on us, then people have been covered in it.”Mr Pearce, now 35, has also used the training base since joining the CFA as a volunteer in 1994, and since taking up a career position in 2000.“I’ll certainly be pursuing the matter further, for peace of mind more than anything so I’m aware that hopefully there is no issues to me and other family members that may or may not have been exposed as well,” he said.“I’ll be exploring options through my union and through the CFA to see if there is anything that needs to be checked out and looked after.”However, Mr Pearce is pleased legislation has been introduced to help protect firefighters from certain types of disease.“We have recently had legislation passed federally which identifies and acknowledges that firefighters suffering from certain types of cancers can be directly attributed to our employment,” he said.“It gives us that back-up that if we develop those types of cancers or illnesses that are attributed to our occupation, it’s a work-related matter, as opposed to an illness that we may need to suffer on our own and deal with through our own resources.“It’s certainly a fairly significant milestone that, federally, people have recognised that our job is inherently dangerous and we are likely to be exposed to things such as a chemicals.“We take that as part of our job, but we certainly like to think our health and safety is first and foremost in our minds and our employers’ minds.”