Fire Smoke & Cancer

It's a simple equation: exposure to fire smoke equals a higher risk of cancer. Proper air management is foundational to preventing exposure to the carcinogens in fire smoke and reducing the cancer risk every firefighter faces.

According to the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), cancer caused 66% of career firefighter line-of-duty deaths from 2002-2019. All 50 states have some level of presumptive cancer legislation in place for firefighters.

While firefighter air management programs and situational awareness training have made significant progress in preventing exposures and changing behaviors, additional efforts are needed. FAC's mission is to educate, firefighters on cancer and disease prevention as by partnering with the Firefighter Cancer Support Network and promoting the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer.

For more information on cancer in the fire service, go to:

Video Resources

This is  great resource for fire smoke exposure training programs.  A 5-minute video focused solely on the toxicity of fire smoke.