The Goodyear Fire Department is one of the first fire departments in the country to take a major step toward preventing firefighters from getting cancer from the important work they do.
Goodyear opened up Station 186 near Willis and Rainbow Valley roads in early January.
The station is one of three that will be built with special air partitioning systems to keep carcinogens away from firefighters in between calls. More and more building materials and household items are made with plastic, and when plastic burns, the smoke it puts off can contain cancer-causing substances that are then inhaled by firefighters.
The CDC reports that firefighters have an increased risk of cancer diagnosis and death as a result of smoke inhalation.
There isn't much firefighters can do about inhaling smoke when they are putting out a fire, but in the living quarters of a station, there is an opportunity to keep firefighters away from fumes as they eat, sleep and wait for the next call.