When firefighters sign up for the job, they’re aware of the dangers of flames, heat and smoke from burning buildings. But they often don’t know about the slower, lingering dangers that can hurt them even when they’re working in the firehouse.
Firefighters are 14 percent more likely to die from cancer than the average American, according to a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health study.
A community program from the Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte is trying to fight that statistic. Code T.O.M., named after a firefighter who died of melanoma in 2013, brings head-and-neck cancer screenings and seminars to fire stations around the state.
Since the program began in May 2016, it has reached over 3000 firefighters in the Carolinas, said Mellisa Wheeler, who runs community outreach for Levine.