PROVIDENCE — From now on, any Providence firefighter diagnosed with cancer will be presumed to have contracted the cancer on the job, and will be given a generous accidental disability pension, assuming they can prove that they do not smoke, use drugs or abuse alcohol, under a measure passed by the City Council last night.

Accidental disability pensions pay retirees an annual sum equal to two-thirds of the average of their three highest years’ salaries — tax-free.

The fire chief and the firefighters union have made the case that firefighters are exposed to numerous carcinogens and have greater risk of developing blood, lung, lymphatic and skin cancer than the rest of the population.

Seven active firefighters, including Chief George S. Farrell, have cancer, though all except Farrell are not working and are on injured-on-duty status awaiting passage of the ordinance before their retirements are processed.

The firefighters union, Local 799 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, has been pushing for this benefit for some time, even using the publicity surrounding the protest of a national security drill in September to stage a public teach-in on the subject.

But the city has long resisted elements of the proposal, and dueling versions had at various times been pushed by the union and Mayor David N. Cicilline.

Firefighter Donna Luce breathed a sigh of relief when the ordinance passed last night. Luce, 35, a seven-year department veteran, was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2003 after being injured on the job.

“I actually got it because I got hurt at work. I was lifting a patient and I fractured my sternum. Then they found, with a CAT scan, they found a tumor. They removed the bone and they replaced it with a prosthetic, but then just last year my body was rejecting the prosthetic so I had to redo the surgery,” she said.

She has been cancer-free and back at work since August, but said that she is always nervous about a relapse. Now, she knows she will be taken care of.

“It’s definitely a victory, but it’s also a relief to know that we’re protected,” she said. “If I ever have a relapse or a reoccurrence, I’ll be protected. It’s definitely a relief, because it was a lot of stress not knowing what your future was.”

After the fire union drew attention to the subject last fall, the issue lay dormant for some time, until Councilmen John J. Igliozzi and Michael A. Solomon started meeting with Union President Paul Doughty on mornings at Solomon’s Olneyville restaurant, Wes’ Rib House. They hammered out an agreement over four breakfast meetings, leading to the bill passed last night.

Doughty said that time became a factor because it seemed that the Fire Department was leaning toward pushing the six firefighters with cancer off the job, as they were not working, but were not explicitly covered under traditional injured-on-duty provisions.

“They ended up in this limbo, and it seemed like they were just going to be forced off the job,” Doughty said.

Those firefighters are expected to retire with accidental disability pensions now, but Igliozzi said this is not about the money in any way.

“It’s really not a benefit. No one in their right mind would want to receive cancer on the job. I view this more as a safety net,” Igliozzi said.

Relations between the city and the fire union are often abysmal, but Igliozzi said that this is proof that “not all issues have to turn into a complete donnybrook.”

Mayor Cicilline supports this compromise bill.

The ordinance presumes that any active-duty firefighter who is diagnosed with cancer developed the cancer as a result of the job, with some exceptions.

The cancer must be diagnosed while the firefighter is employed by the city or within three years of retirement, and verified by three oncologists hired by the city. Firefighters must have at least one year on the job to be eligible and must be certified as cancer-free when they are hired.

Firefighters would have to submit to annual physical exams administered by doctors hired by the city to prove that they do not use tobacco products, abuse alcohol or use illegal drugs, and sign affidavits stating that they have not used those substances.

Firefighters who use those substances now have a clean slate going forward, but will have to prove on their next annual physical that they are not using them anymore. Types of cancer known to be caused by the abuse of alcohol would not qualify under the ordinance.

The city would have the right to challenge that the cancer was the result of on-the-job activities and could rescind the pension if the pensioner doesn’t file annual reports to the city to prove their continued disability.

To qualify, firefighters must also agree to participate in any health and wellness programs offered by the Fire Department, a stipulation which Igliozzi said is rare among cities that offer this type of benefit.

All city employees who qualify for a pension receive health benefits for life.

All 13 council members present last night voted for the measure, and were cheered by nearly 50 firefighters packing the council chambers. A second passage is required before the measure becomes city ordinance.

dbarbari@projo.com