Protecting Firefighters Beyond The Fireground

Cancer is one of the most serious long-term health threats facing the fire service today. While it does not take firefighters on the fireground or during active operations, it follows many long after the job is done—sometimes years or decades later.

January is Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month, and for firefighters, awareness is not about dramatics or loose language. It is about acknowledging a slow, cumulative hazard tied directly to the environments we work in and the contaminants we encounter over the course of a career.

An Invisible Exposure

Carcinogens linger. They settle into turnout gear, hoods, gloves, helmets, apparatus seats, and station surfaces. They are absorbed through the skin and inhaled, often without obvious warning signs.

Modern fires burn hotter and dirtier than those of previous generations. Even short-duration incidents can result in meaningful exposure. Cancer is rarely the result of one fire. It develops through repetition. Years of small, routine exposures that quietly add up.

What the Data Shows

Certain cancers; including multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and gastrointestinal cancers, appear with increased frequency.

This isn’t theoretical. Nearly every department can point to members who have been affected after retirement or later in life. Cancer has become a familiar conversation in firehouses. It follows the job home over time.

Prevention Is Still the Answer

Firefighters are trained to manage risk, not deny it. Cancer prevention follows the same logic as any other safety practice: reduce exposure where possible and control what can be controlled.

That means habits like:

Wearing SCBA from ignition through overhaul
Performing gross decontamination on scene
Bagging contaminated gear before transport
Showering as soon as possible after incidents
Keeping turnout gear out of living and sleeping areas
Maintaining clean apparatus and stations

These steps don’t eliminate risk entirely, but they meaningfully reduce it. Over a full career, those reductions matter.

Protective equipment also plays a role. Firefighter helmets designed for modern operations, such as the Phenix First Due, Phenix TL-2, and Phenix TC-1, are built to support today’s safety standards while fitting into evolving decontamination practices. Cleanability, proper fit, and consistent use all contribute to reducing long-term exposure risk.

Culture Drives Outcomes

Equipment and policies only work if the culture supports them.

For a long time, dirty gear was treated as proof of experience. Today, it’s understood for what it is: contamination.

Changing that mindset isn’t about rewriting history. It’s about responding to better information. The fire service has always evolved when evidence showed a safer way forward. Cancer awareness is part of that same progression.

Leadership sets the tone. When officers model clean practices and departments reinforce standards, prevention becomes routine instead of optional.

Beyond the Firehouse

Cancer prevention isn’t just about the firefighter. Contaminated gear stored in vehicles or homes can expose family members as well. The effects of the job don’t always stay at the station.

Reducing exposure on duty helps reduce exposure everywhere else. That matters just as much as any operational consideration.

A Month for Reflection and Reinforcement

Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month isn’t about assigning blame or inflating language. It’s about taking a clear-eyed look at a long-term occupational risk and responding with professionalism.

Use this month to revisit policies, reinforce training, inspect gear, and have honest conversations in the firehouse. Ask where exposure still occurs. Ask where shortcuts are being taken. Ask what can be improved.