After dragging their feet a bit on participating in a national study on cancer among firefighters, the San Francisco Fire Department has agreed to help the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health collect data after all.

While the delay caused some outrage from the firefighter’s union and a group of firefighters who have worked tirelessly to bring the issue to the fore, the department administration says it was just concerned about the confidentiality of firefighter records.

Now that it’s all clear, the department will participate, Deputy Chief Gary Massetani recently told the Fire Commission.