Firefighters can be exposed to hundreds of contaminants at work, some of which are known to cause cancer. Yet many do not receive enough training on how to minimize their exposure.
Firefighters like Yellowknife-based Fire Chief (Retired) John Fredericks know this risk all too well. John was diagnosed with central nervous system lymphoma, a rare brain cancer that likely resulted from exposure to cancer-causing substances at work. Now, he raises awareness about the occupational hazards that increase firefighters’ risk of developing cancer.
More than 85% of Canada’s firefighters are volunteers living in rural and remote areas of Canada. This group has special needs when it comes to cancer prevention and lowering risk.
Funded by CCS and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Dr Patrick McGrath is designing and testing educational initiatives to help reduce volunteer firefighters’ exposure to cancer-causing chemicals. This project allows firefighters to lower their personal cancer risk.
“We have established the basis for the scientific and practical development of better ways to change firefighter behaviour to prevent occupational cancer,” says Dr McGrath, a professor emeritus of psychiatry at Dalhousie University/IWK Health.
Dr McGrath and his team of researchers and practitioners across Canada and the US created the first scientific tools to understand how firefighters can better protect themselves from cancer on the job. These include a scale that measures everyday prevention behaviours and another that reveals barriers to change.
“Using this scale a firefighter can recognize the behaviours needed to reduce risk, as well as identify some of the barriers to the necessary behaviours,” says fire chief Dr Jim Petrik, chair of the CAFC’s cancer committee and cancer researcher at the University of Guelph. “The tool is sensitive to the underserved population of volunteer firefighters but is also suitable for use by career firefighters.”
These tools can also help fire departments create the right conditions to support firefighter cancer prevention, making sure that the burden does not fall on the firefighters alone.
“Only a handful of fire departments in Canada have a firefighter cancer prevention plan,” says Dr Tina Saryeddine, Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC) and a co-investigator on the project. “This research allowed the Cancer Committee of the CAFC to adapt the items in the scale into a ‘Rapid Response Program’ curriculum that all fire departments can use.”
John Fredericks also appreciates this work. “I am very pleased that the issue of occupational cancer has come to the forefront,” says John, who works closely with the CAFC. “I strongly believe we should fund research like this to better understand the dangers firefighters face.”
Preventing cancer before it starts is one of CCS’s top priorities. “The joint funding from CCS and CIHR was critical,” says Dr McGrath. “Without it, none of this research would have been possible.”
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