They run to the places we would typically run away from. Putting themselves in the most dangerous places, for fire fighters it's all part of the job. But it doesn't end there. What happens after they fight fires, can be considered the scariest part of the job. According to the International Association of Fire Fighters, cancer caused 61 percent of deaths among full time fire fighters from 2002 to 2016. The IAFF reports fire fighters have a nine percent higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer than the general U.S. population.