Firefighters taking precautions due to cancer risk

The attitude around the issue has shifted in recent years, local firefighters said. In the past, many regarded cancer as something that just happened, but now it’s seen as a semi-preventable issue, said Skyler White, a union board officer with the International Association of Firefighters Local Chapter 77.

“It used to be no big deal, where now, it’s starting to hit us hard ... it’s a problem,” he said. “As firefighters, we deal with problems every day and we solve problems ... We’re doing what we can to solve the problem.”

St. Joseph Fire Department’s measures to improve safety include exhaust systems to filter out toxins from trucks, a dry sauna so firefighters can sweat out chemicals and a special machine to wash chemicals out of bunker gear.

Using so many measures helps prevent harmful chemicals from building up over time, said Mikey May, a St. Joseph fire captain who works at St. Joseph’s Station 11.

“It’s huge,” he said. “The station we were at prior to coming to this station was one of those old over-and-under stations, old Station 11 at 18th and Walnut (streets) ... Your living quarters were above the station, so every time you got toxins on the apparatus floor, you got toxins, you know, on your living quarters.”

People often associate saunas with relaxation, but firefighters use theirs to do jumping jacks and other physical activity to sweat out toxins, May said.

Much of the issue with handling cancer risks are changes in building materials. Composites and plastic-based materials have become more popular than traditional lumber, but they release more carcinogens than wood during fires, White said.

“Those types of things are significantly seen more in the world today whenever we fight a structure fire,” he said.

Understanding the changing safety measures has led to a culture based around firefighter safety, but it has to start when firefighters are young, White said. That’s why there now is more emphasis on classes that teach firefighters how to recognize cancer risks and protect themselves, he said.