Nov. 19--A proposed bill that would extend work-related benefits to Oregon firefighters who are diagnosed with any of 12 forms of cancer hasn't been drafted yet.

But three of five Portland City Council members already have thrown their general support behind it, despite a plea for more study on the impact of such legislation on the city's taxpayer-funded public safety disability system.

A similar bill failed in the Legislature last year.

Under the latest proposal, the following 12 forms of cancer would be assumed to be job-related when diagnosed in a firefighter: brain, colon, stomach, testicular, prostate, mouth, throat, breast, rectal, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and leukemia.

Oregon firefighters now have to prove such cancers are job-related to get workers' compensation or Portland disability benefits. The city's public safety disability fund considers occupational diseases to include heart disease, certain hernias, AIDS or AIDS-related diseases, tuberculosis, Hepatitis B and pneumonia.

Linda Jefferson, director of the Portland Fire and Police Disability and Retirement Fund, and Yvonne Deckard, chairwoman of the fund's board, say the fund's costs could increase significantly if the 12 cancers are added, noting that the city's firefighting force is the largest in the state. They counter that medical studies found firefighting was a "probable" cause in only three of the cancers -- myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and prostate.

But their main objection is the process. They say state legislation would bypass Portland voters in changing the taxpayer-funded disability system that is governed by City Charter, not by Oregon workers' compensation.

"Adding new benefits that result in increased costs to the FPDR system without the input of the taxpayers of the City of Portland is a significant concern," Jefferson and Deckard wrote to council members before their Tuesday work session on their legislative priorities.

Mayor-elect Sam Adams; Commissioner Randy Leonard, a former firefighter who once led the city firefighters union; and Commissioner Nick Fish said Tuesday that they supported the premise of the legislation. They didn't ask questions about the impact, cost or medical studies that support the bill, putting that off until later.

"I think the concept is sound," said Fish, city fire commissioner. He noted that more than 20 other states offer such "presumptive" cancer benefits to firefighters based on studies that show firefighters are exposed to many cancer-causing agents.