A fire safety whistleblower is urging the Trump administration to investigate what she calls “one of the largest intentional occupational poisonings known to mankind.”
Diane Cotter, whose husband was diagnosed with cancer after decades in the fire service, told The Dallas Express, “I worry this administration is unwilling to investigate,” as she renewed calls for federal scrutiny of the multibillion-dollar firefighter gear industry.
Cotter said she submitted documentation to the FBI, Department of Justice, and the new administration under President Trump earlier this year.
“When you are a whistleblower and you give over very sensitive information, there is no chain of command… There is no recordkeeping for the whistleblower,” Cotter said, referring to the binder of materials she mailed to top federal officials earlier this year.
She is calling on President Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and others to launch a formal investigation into industry and union leaders who she claims allowed the widespread use of carcinogenic PFAS chemicals in required firefighter gear.
“We are really owed the seat at the table,” Cotter said. “Just let us be heard.”
Cotter’s campaign began after her husband, Lt. Paul Cotter of the Worcester Fire Department, was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer in 2014. Since then, she has collected thousands of pages of documents and filed complaints with multiple agencies.
In July, she told The Dallas Express that she is documenting her years-long struggle in a forthcoming memoir titled Products of Deception.
Despite progress in state and federal bans on PFAS in firefighting gear, Cotter claims the federal government has failed to hold accountable those who promoted the use of the chemicals for years.
She has called for a presidential executive order to investigate, saying industry players are now profiting from supplying new PFAS-free gear — after decades of allegedly selling the contaminated equipment.
Cotter also criticized Harold Schaitberger, former head of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), noting his close ties to the Biden administration.
A 2022 Politico report said federal authorities issued subpoenas for IAFF records, including Schaitberger’s financials and personnel file.
A union panel cleared Schaitberger of wrongdoing in retirement payments, but the DOJ, FBI, and Department of Labor were all reportedly involved in the wider probe.
The Dallas Express contacted the FBI earlier this year for a status update but received the following reply: “Due to longstanding DOJ policy, we cannot confirm or deny the existence of any investigation and have no comment to provide.” A spokesman for the Department of Labor gave a similar response.
As Cotter previously explained, there was a cozy relationship between the IAFF leadership under the Schaitberger era with the gear/chemical manufacturers. She said the relationship was defined by perks and incentive programs that the industry offered to those who made decisions about ordering gear.
Schaitberger has never been found liable in a court of law for any civil or criminal offense related to this matter.
Concurrently, cancer rates amongst firemen remained elevated. According to IAFF data, two-thirds of firefighters are diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. Not all cancer diagnoses in the fire service are attributable to PFAS; however, links between the chemicals and cancer are now well established.
During the 2024 presidential election, Cotter called out then-Vice President Kamala Harris for what she characterized as a late and politically convenient embrace of PFAS reform.
“In 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, the union was promulgating the DuPont propaganda of ‘there’s nothing wrong with your turnout gear,’” Cotter said in a 2024 interview with The Dallas Express. Harris co-sponsored PFAS legislation in 2019, but only on what Cotter called “the third round.”
Campaign finance data reviewed by The Dallas Express shows that Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign received about $90,000 in contributions from networks tied to chemical manufacturer DuPont and gear manufacturer 3M, while Trump’s campaign received just $8,000.
Cotter responded, “Let this be a lesson to the Harris campaign. You’ve shown us exactly who you are. Accepting $26,000 from DuPont while seeking the endorsement of the cancer-ridden fire service — you’ve shown injurious leadership to my community… #MAGA #MAHA.”
Still, some departments have begun to change course. Cotter said Worcester’s fire department, where her husband served, has started transitioning to PFAS-free gear, albeit slowly. National mandates, such as the NDAA provision requiring PFAS-free gear by 2026, are also on the horizon — but Cotter insists those are not enough.
“Without your intervention,” she wrote in a letter to President Trump this spring, “industry will be rewarded… after two decades of saturating the gear with PFOA.”
Whether this new administration will act remains uncertain. But Cotter, undeterred, says her fight is far from over. “If you are a congressional [member] and [ignoring this situation] — that, too, will be part of my memoir.”
The White House, HHS and the DOJ were contacted in the production of the story but representatives for these institutions did not immediately return comment.