Fire fighter occupational cancer is the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths in the fire service. In 2019, more than 75% of the names of fire fighters added to the IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Wall of Honor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, were of members who died from occupational cancer.
In partnership with the Firefighter Cancer Support Network (FCSN), the IAFF has designated January as Fire Fighter Cancer Awareness Month to provide fire fighters the necessary tools and guidance to develop life-saving protocols for cancer prevention and to support those with a cancer diagnosis within their departments.
Bringing increased public awareness to occupational cancer in the fire service will help generate greater legislative support for states and provinces to establish presumptive disabilities for all cancers affecting fire fighters.
#FFCancerMonth #FightFFCancer
View Source: https://www.iaff.org/cancer-awareness-month/#how-to-get-started
The content on this website is designed to help IAFF leaders, members and their fire departments become more educated and aware about why cancer cases are on the rise in the fire service and provides best practices on how to limit day-to-day exposures to carcinogens.
Each week focuses on a specific theme; each theme builds on the previous week’s theme. By the end of the month, members, locals and fire departments will have the knowledge and resources to understand how fire fighters are exposed to carcinogens, what happens when they are exposed, how to prevent exposures, make culture changes in their department and assist those who are diagnosed with cancer.
Resources for each week include factsheets, relevant research and social graphics. These specific areas will help you to navigate the content and focus on topics of interest.
All resources are available to review at your convenience, but we encourage using the content from each week to hold a weekly safety stand down in your department. In addition to weekly content, training briefs are provided and should be used as discussion tools to educate fire fighters on reducing the risk of occupational cancer.
Fire Fighter Cancer Awareness Month takes place in January, but these resources should be used throughout the year. We encourage you to check frequently for more information about specific topics.
#FFCancerMonth #FightFFCancer