Cancer is killing firefighters. Whether on the job in the United States or the United Kingdom, in India or Indiana, firefighters are enduring countless occupational exposures to carcinogens that make us far more likely to get sick or die from cancer than the average person.

Anecdotally, we have known this for years. Each of us has lost too many friends to occupational cancer, brothers and sisters gone far too soon. The numbers are staggering. This year’s IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Ceremony honored 572 members who died in the line of duty between Jan. 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2022. Nearly two-thirds died of cancer.

These are not anomalies. The science is clear. In 2022, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a division of the World Health Organization, declared firefighting – the profession itself – as a Group 1 threat (“carcinogenic to humans”), the most dangerous classification. Scientists around the globe know: our job is one of the world’s most dangerous.

Risk is inherent in our work. Putting others first means that, one day, we might have to give our own lives to save someone at the end of a dark, smoke-filled hallway. It’s the oath we took. Any call could be our last. But that does not mean we should not strive to make a dangerous job safer. In fact, that is our mission.

Recognising the urgent need for action, the International Association of Fire Fighters – the labor union for firefighters, emergency medical, and rescue workers in the United States and Canada – is laser-focused on eliminating cancer from the fire service.

We are starting with bunker gear. Our personal protective equipment, the very gear meant to keep us safe, is making us sick. Independent studies show that our gear is loaded with toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), chemicals linked to cancer and other illnesses. Firefighters are needlessly put at risk every time we wear our gear. That’s why the IAFF and the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association notified members last year about ways to reduce exposure to PFAS, including only wearing bunker gear when the response calls for it.

In addition to needless PFAS exposure, firefighters endure a toxic mix of carcinogens released during the burning of plastics and modern building materials. We need independent research that expands our knowledge of occupational exposures and helps us understand why firefighters are at a heightened risk for some cancers. The IAFF has been working with scientists, physicians, politicians, and environmentalists to develop this strategy, and our members have put their money where their mouths are by funding independent cancer research.

This universal issue demands a global response. In Canada and the US, the IAFF is working to expand benefits for firefighters diagnosed with cancer. We are advocating for local, state, and federal governments to extend line-of-duty death coverage to survivors whose firefighter dies of occupational cancer. And we are sharing what we know with our Global Alliance partners. The Australian government has increased the number of cancers covered under presumptive legislation, and the Fire Brigades Union continues to pressure the United Kingdom to recognise the link between firefighting and cancer.

In August, the IAFF hosted a roundtable with Global Alliance members at our John P. Redmond Health and Safety Symposium. Leaders from the FBU, the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union, Sweden’s Cancer Foundation for Firefighters, and the United Firefighters Union of Australia joined me to discuss our profession’s most pressing issues, especially occupational cancer. Leadership from Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, and Norway were also in attendance.

Everyone shares in the obligation to care for public servants who dedicate their lives to protecting others. As fire service leaders, that means doing everything we can to make the job as safe as it can be – for our fallen, for the firefighters of today, and for the generations to follow.

About the influencer

Edward A. Kelly, 10th General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters, is a third-generation firefighter elected in March 2021. A Boston Fire Department veteran since 1997, Kelly has served in various high-profile emergencies and held significant union roles, including as IAFF General Secretary-Treasurer. He’s also a U.S. Air Force veteran.

This article was originally published in the December2023 issue of International Fire & Safety Journal. To read your FREE digital copy, click here.