Burning buildings, collapsing roofs and temperatures reaching toward 1,000 degrees are some of the life-threatening conditions that firefighters encounter on the job. But one of the greatest risks to firefighters' health is one that can't be seen: cancer.
That’s why the Tucson Fire Department partnered with the University of Arizona College of Public Health to take action against the silent killer by improving the protective gear firefighters wear.
According to a 2016 study from the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, firefighters die from cancer-related illnesses at a 14 percent higher rate than the general public.
“There’s an assortment of cancers that are out there that are higher in firefighters,” said Darin Wallentine, the health and wellness chief for TFD.