Captain Barry Maham, who served with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department (FCFRD) for more than 25 years, has died of an occupational-related cancer.
Maham, 50, died Monday (March 31), nearly four-and-a-half years after he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. His death is considered to have occurred in the line of duty, the department said.
“A beloved and respected member of FCFRD, Captain Maham was surrounded by a strong network of family and friends,” the department said in a statement. “There is no doubt that he touched many lives, [and] he will be greatly missed.”
Maham, who joined the department in 1999, retired from the FCFRD last year to focus on battling the illness.
A Lorton resident, Maham received his initial colon cancer diagnosis in 2021 after receiving a free cancer detection screening. The fire department subsequently had scans administered to a subset of its firefighters in early 2022 and obtained a $450,000 grant in 2023 to conduct early cancer screenings for firefighters.
The 2022 diagnostic scans found that at least 57%, or 101 firefighters, had “at least one abnormal result.” Several received a diagnosis that required action to remedy concerns related to the liver, thyroid, spleen and other areas, according to the FCFRD.
According to International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2068, the labor union that represents Fairfax County firefighters and paramedics, Maham devoted “countless hours” throughout his career to training and mentoring his FCFRD colleagues.
He was also a member of Virginia Task Force 1 — the international urban search and rescue team based in Fairfax County — and played “a key role” on the FCFRD’s Marine Operations Team, where he was able to combine his firefighter service with “his love of fishing and boating,” the union said in a Facebook post.
Away from the firehouse, Maham volunteered his time to take disabled veterans on fishing trips through the nonprofit organization Veterans Fishing Adventure.
“Captain Maham was an exceptional leader, mentor, and friend,” the FCFRD said. “He served the department with unwavering dedication that no doubt will have a lasting impact on the department and community.”
He is survived by his wife, Amber, as well as five children and one grandchild.
Maham’s death comes nearly three years after the FCFRD lost Capt. Kimberly Schoppa to an occupational-related cancer “due to exposure on the job over time.” She served in the department for over 18 years and was assigned to the West Springfield station at the time of her death in 2022.
A 2023 study conducted by researchers at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that career firefighters have a higher risk for developing chronic diseases, “including an increased risk of various cancers,” compared to the general population.
“Exposure assessment and other studies have documented exposures to a variety of carcinogens in fire smoke and within the fire station,” researchers said in the study’s summary. “Other occupational factors such as shift work, sedentary behavior, and the fire service food culture may also contribute to this working population’s increased cancer risk.”
