Another Columbus Firefighter has lost his battle with cancer. Ed Gibbons died Friday, just one day after retiring from firefighting.

Gibbons spent his nearly 30-year career at Columbus Fire Station 2 downtown. Like so many of his brothers, he expected to fight fires, not cancer.

Gibbons was described as a quiet man.

“Kind of made him more respected on the fire department because when you’re quiet and you actually have something to say people listen to what you’re going to say,” said Union Vice President John Capretta with Columbus Firefighters IAFF Local 67.

Capretta said cancer is an epidemic within the department. Right now, he said 9% of Columbus Firefighters are fighting cancer.

Columbus Firefighter Jesse Williams is a cancer survivor. We asked him if he believed he got Prostate Cancer because of his job.

“I do believe it contributed to it, I do,” he said.

Capretta said the link between being exposed to fire toxins and cancer is now proven. He said there’s still work to be done in supporting patients and their families.

“We show up to your house on the worst day of your life and when our guys are diagnosed with cancer it’s the worst day of their life and we want the city and the citizens to back (us),” said Capretta.

Columbus Fire Chief Kevin O’Connor said he will continue to work with the city and citizens to make the department the safest it can be.

“Unfortunately, we lost Ed to a disease that’s claiming too many firefighters both in disease process and in death. It’s just wrong,” he said.

Chief O’Connor said Gibbons filed a claim before he died under the Ohio Firefighter Cancer Presumption Law which was passed just last year. Once approved it would presumably allow his family to receive workers compensation benefits under the assumption he developed cancer on the job.