BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — While a firefighter's purpose is to save lives, it often comes at a risk. According to the International Association of Fire Fighters, in 2022, the Fallen Firefighter Memorial added 469 names. Of those, 348, 75 percent of the names, were of firefighters who died from occupational cancers.
January is Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month, a time to educate the community about the dangers these first responders face.
"It is an extreme sacrifice," said Kern County Fire Department Public Information Officer Andrew Freeborn, "to choose a profession that quite literally is almost designed to kill you."
Saving lives comes at a risk for firefighters around the nation and here in Kern County.
"The type of emergencies that you respond to, the environment that you place yourself in, even the sleeping conditions, going from a complete, deep sleep to having the alarms going off at 1 in the morning, 3 in the morning, 4 in the morning," said Freeborn, describing the day to day stresses firefighters are exposed to.
According to Freeborn, while deaths can happen on-duty, deaths from cancer can also occur long after a firefighter's career is over.
"We have seen deaths of our firefighters as a result of cancer and not always is it while they are on duty, while they are actively working for the fire department. Many firefighters are dying after they retire," said Freeborn.
Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says firefighters have a 9 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14 percent higher risk of dying from cancer than the general population.
Freeborn says KCFD provides ways for firefighters to limit how much time they spend in physical contact with soot and ash that could contain harmful chemicals, but cancer remains the most common reason firefighters die from their jobs.
"The devices that we use to clean our clothing. We've added new machines to different stations to help clean the turnouts, the wipes that we use on scene, the process that we use of trying to minimize contact, to try and keep these carcinogens away from us. All of these things are being done by all of our firefighters, but the fact remains that cancer is still the leading cause," said Freeborn.
Tim Ortiz with the Bakersfield Fire Department says there have been steps made when it comes to protecting firefighters, but there's still more to do.
"Some of the gear that we had before actually had products that had cancer, products that could develop into cancer within them, and now all our firefighter gear is manufactured to make sure there is no carcinogens," Ortiz said.
Both Ortiz and Freeborn agree that despite the danger they put themselves in, it's all to help others.
"We're going to do the job no matter what," said Ortiz. "When the call comes, we go."
"We're doing everything we can, even, if you will, sacrifice our own health; mental, physical, whatever it may be, because we know we are doing something good for our community," said Freeborn.
Fire officials have dedicated each week in January to different parts of this cause. This week includes prevention, education, and a review of best practices, with the goal of turning knowledge into action.
