By Suzette Martinez Standring, Chief Correspondent
Lt. Fire Inspector Chris Wyman and the late Ret. Lt. Jessica L. Wyman were husband and wife, career firefighters, and soulmates. It was his unbearable loss when Jessica passed away from occupational lung cancer. She was the first female firefighter to be promoted to lieutenant of the Nashua (NH) Fire Department. Chris, Lieutenant/Fire Inspector for the Merrimack, NH Fire Department, tells her story.
A HUSBAND’S PRIDE IN HIS WIFE'S ACHIEVEMENTS
The late Ret. Lt. Jessica L. Wyman (1971-2023) was a force! She was the first female firefighter to be promoted to Lieutenant for the Nashua (NH) Fire Department. A firefighter since 1992, Jessica first served with the Merrimack, NH Fire Department, and then as a lieutenant for Engine Company 4, one of the busiest fire stations in Nashua, NH, where she eventually retired. She was a member of Nashua’s Regional Hazardous Materials Team and a member of the Dive Team.
In 2023, Jessica L. Wyman died from occupational lung cancer. Her death was confirmed to be a line-of-duty-death on July 8, 2024, and her name was added to the New Hampshire Fallen Fighters Memorial on September 28, 2024, making her the first female fire fighter to die in the line of duty in New Hampshire Fire Service history. Her name was also added to the Nashua Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial on October 6, 2024.
Chris, her firefighter husband, recalls dating 21-year-old Jess in 1993 when she worked as a paramedic and a firefighter in Merrimack, NH. Back then he was 20, and within three years, he married Jess. “If there’s such a thing as soulmates, that’s what I always called it. She died two days before our 27th wedding anniversary. It was a kick in the teeth,” said Chris.
He is proud of her leadership and determination. She founded Camp Fully Involved, a physically challenging, aggressive hands-on, live-in, week-long summer camp to help and guide aspiring female firefighters, ages 14 to 20.
“No matter where she went, she always left with a new friend,” he said, and he admired her athletic ability in soccer, hockey, and semi-pro football. She had been a competitive powerlifter and competed throughout the U.S. and in Europe. Chris said, “She even competed in the World’s Strongest Woman and scored 8th overall.”
JESS’S DIAGNOSIS
In August 2022, doctors began treating her for pneumonia, but she didn’t respond to treatment. Months later a CT scan of her chest followed.
On January 5, 2023, Chris and Jess received the results of the CT scan “She had a look on her face I've never seen before, and I hope I never see again,” said Chris. Her diagnosis was non-smokers lung cancer, stage 4, and her type of cancer was not curable.
At the time of her diagnosis, Chris had new career opportunities within the fire service, but he swept all that off the table when Jess got sick. His goal was to keep his wife’s spirits up and to keep her fighting. “I just downshifted, and knew I had to tend to my wife, and making sure that she was comfortable and focused.”
JESS'S RETIREMENT BEFORE HER DIAGNOSIS
In 2017, Jess retired from being the first female fire lieutenant for the Nashua Fire Department. On her last day on the job, she wore a colorful tie-dyed tee-shirt. Her fire company followed suit.
“She was not going to be told that she couldn't wear what she wanted to wear on her last day at work,” said Chris.
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Jess hoped retirement might avoid the high risk of occupational cancer and she decided to reinvent herself as a nurse.
Again, her husband was so proud, “She wasn’t ready to ride a desk. She went to nursing school, and she got an associate’s in nursing, a bachelor's in nursing, two masters degrees, one in healthcare administration and one in nursing”.
By 2021, Jess graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a Doctorate in Nursing Practice with a 4.0 grade point average. Her husband said, “She did it all on her own, no student loans, no debt. She was something else.”
JESS’S CANCER WAS OCCUPATION-RELATED
But 2023 brought a cancer diagnosis, and the outpouring of support accompanied Jess during her four chemotherapy treatments to battle her Stage 4 cancer. Always present were Chris and her nursing friends (Mary, Stacey, Laura, and Megan) in costume to cheer her on. Jess’s friends wore boxing robes with Wyman’s Warriors emblazoned on the back, or they came in camouflage clothes with nerf guns to join Jess’s fight.
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When she was treated for lung cancer, the tie dyed shirt of her retirement was printed with "Wyman's Warriors" and became the Nashua Fire Department's symbol of her cancer fight. Chris said “On her last chemotherapy session, they all showed up with shirts that said, ‘Incident Terminated, All Units Released’.”
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But on November 28, 2023, Jess passed away with her husband of 27 years by her side and their silver Labrador, Maddy, in her lap. Jess was 52.
(See previous blog post where Chris advises firefighters to document toxic exposure from fires to protect future benefits even when no illness is present.)
GRIEF IS A LONG, HARD JOURNEY
When the news of Jess’s passing became public, Chris’s cell phone rang non-stop, and the text messages mounted. His fire chief was the first to arrive at their home, banging on the door, until he was let in. From the time of Jess’s death until her Celebration of Life, two weeks later, members of the Nashua Fire Department, Merrimack Fire Department, and firefighters from the surrounding towns stayed in the house with Chris 24 hours a day. They fielded calls, updated his social media, made sure he ate, and were a constant presence to ensure Chris had time to grieve, but more importantly, to rest.
Grief is very tough, and Chris said, “Even to this day people ask me, is there anything we can do?’ I don't have an answer, other than just to say ‘keep being you.’”
NEW RESOURCES TO HELP FIREFIGHTERS
On July 2, 2024, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed into law a bill that provides $5 million dollars for a two-year pilot program passed to detect early cancer in firefighters. NH is only the third state in the country to launch this program.
Previously, firefighters had annual physicals, but early cancer screening tests, such as CT scans, blood tests for cancer markers, and ultrasounds to detect lesions and growths were not done. Now such cancer screenings are signed into law.
Also, within the last few years, the Nashua Fire Department created a Members Assistance Team, made up of firefighters, active or retired, to help firefighters and/or their families with support and information.
WHEN CANCER RISKS ARE HIGH, WHY BE A FIREFIGHTER?
One firefighter recruit recently asked Chris, “How can you continue to do this job when the job took your wife from you?”
Chris thinks about his close relationships, warm memories, the excitement, the feeling of purpose, and the overwhelming support from his brother and sister firefighters.
“I say love the job, it’ll love you back. Jess and I signed on to this job knowing the hazards. There’s a poem that I love that says, death is a card that is dealt in our hands as firefighters, but it’s a card we hope we never have to play. We were both craftsmen in this job. We loved the work and there were a lot of things we got to do.”
Just days away from the state and Nashua memorials for fallen firefighters in the fall of 2024, Chris said, “It’s still the best job in the world.”
DO YOU HAVE A FIREFIGHTER RELATED CANCER STORY?
Please contact Suzette Standring (suzette@firefightersvscancer.org) if you, as a firefighter or family member, have a story to share.
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