Cancer Becoming Top Risk for Firefighters

ROCHESTER, MI — Along with flames and smoke, recent statistics show that firefighters these days face a hidden health threat — a greater chance of getting cancer, according to a media report. Nearly two-thirds of firefighters in their career will develop cancer — some while on the job, others after they retire — compared with 20 percent of the general population, according to a recent study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Rochester Post reported.

Firefighters also are much more likely to be diagnosed with unique forms of cancer, such as malignant mesothelioma, a rare disease caused by asbestos exposure, the institute found in a 2010 study.

Increasingly, firefighters are exposed to cancer-causing toxins released by new materials in houses and other buildings as they burn, said Rochester Fire Chief John Cieslik.

Cieslik told the Rochester Post that he has lost many friends and coworkers to cancer, and he knows many more who are battling the disease.

"In many cases, we do not know what is being generated when the fires are burning — just because of the combination of the materials and the heat generated and how the product decomposes — so cancer is starting to become a huge issue for firefighters,” he said.

The U.S. Congress is looking at creating a national registry to track firefighters suffering from cancer. The voluntary registry would be a first step in determining the risks to firefighters’ health and finding ways to protect them, said U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., a co-sponsor of a bill to set up the registry.

The data gathered by the registry "will allow us to research preventive techniques and design better protective equipment for our first responders, as well as develop advanced, effective medical treatments to provide the best care to firefighters diagnosed with cancer,” Peters said in a statement.

The bill, called the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act, is being considered by the Senate's Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. It has won support from an array of firefighter groups, including the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the Michigan chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters.

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