The names etched on the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Colorado Springs underscore the grim truth about the leading cause of death among firefighters.
Over the past five years, 65 percent of the 944 firefighters whose names were added to the wall succumbed to job-related cancers.
This year will be no different, according to Patrick Morrison of the International Association of Fire Fighters. Of the 252 fallen firefighters who will be honored in Colorado this September, 201 died of occupation-related cancers, a reality that on Monday brought Morrison and more than 325 other firefighters, scientists, researchers, and other stakeholders from seven countries to the Shalala Student Center, where the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center hosted the inaugural State of the Science National Firefighter Cancer Symposium.