WAKAW — Addressing cancers linked to firefighting is an issue of importance for all people in Canada, including the fire sector, their families and their communities.
The newly hired fire chief of the Hoodoo-Wakaw-Cudworth fire department, Darrell Wickenhauser, said, “January is firefighter cancer awareness month. As firefighters, we recognize we are exposed to fire, smoke and toxic chemicals, placing us in a significantly higher risk of developing cancer. Cancer remains the leading cause of job-related deaths for firefighters in Canada. We need to promote more education and have access to more cancer prevention, early detection, and available treatment programs.”
Every day, firefighters across the country risk their lives to keep our communities safe. While they are protecting others, their work places them at significantly higher risk of developing cancer. The link between firefighting and cancer is irrefutable. In 2025, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), nearly 80 per cent of its members’ line-of-duty deaths were due to occupational cancer.
Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month, observed each January, highlights the increased cancer risks firefighters face. Led by the IAFF, the initiative focuses on fire prevention and safety education, encourages broader public awareness, early cancer detection, stronger support systems for firefighters and their families affected by occupational cancer and resources that help firefighters reduce exposure and prioritize long-term health.
While engaged in fire suppression, training exercises, and rescue activities, firefighters are repeatedly exposed to complex mixtures of cancer-causing chemicals, including smoke, particulate matter, and toxic gases that contain known carcinogens such as benzene, formaldehyde, asbestos, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These carcinogens can be inhaled through the lungs, inadvertently swallowed via the upper aerodigestive tract, or absorbed directly through the skin. Over time, chronic exposure to these carcinogenic agents can contribute to cellular changes linked to cancer development.
Research has found that firefighters face increased risks for several specific cancers, including bladder cancer, brain and central nervous system cancers, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, colorectal cancer, skin melanoma, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer. Other cancers with elevated but less consistent associations included leukemia, multiple myeloma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and pancreatic cancer.
Women firefighters may face higher exposures in the course of their work because personal protective equipment (PPE) for firefighters is traditionally designed for men and may not fit them correctly. Eleven per cent of Canadian firefighters are women (Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, 2023), and yet little research has focused on their specific cancer risks and the effects of firefighting exposures on female-specific cancers and reproductive health.
Consultations conducted by Health Canada from June 2023 to January 2024 identified that while the lived experiences of urban structural firefighters are quite different from those of other firefighters, such as volunteer, wildland, and Indigenous firefighters, most of the research, programs, and policies focus on the hazards faced by urban structural firefighters.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) report, occupational exposures as a firefighter have changed due to the number and intensity of wildland fires associated with climate change (Ellis et al. 2022). The IARC report notes, “wildland fires alone will engage more people in firefighting in the coming years, increasing the number of exposed firefighters and their subsequent cancer burden”. (IARC, 2023)
Wildland firefighters have historically been overlooked and face many unique challenges, which becomes more of a concern, especially as wildfire seasons grow in severity and duration each year. Wildland firefighters are deployed for long stretches in camps without access to showers or laundry, have limited protective gear, and often work across several jurisdictions. Additionally, many wildland firefighters live in communities regularly impacted by wildfire smoke, so even when not deployed, they are exposed to wildfire smoke.
Similarly, volunteer firefighters can find it challenging to protect themselves from hazardous exposures, as they may not have access to updated gear and decontamination facilities. An overview of those consultations formed the Informing a national framework on cancers linked to firefighting: What we heard report, which was used to inform the 2024 National Framework on Cancers Linked to Firefighting, a guide launched by the Government of Canada, to raise awareness of and improve access to care and health outcomes for firefighters. Over the next four years, the framework will be used to help develop diagnostic guidelines for early identification of cancers associated with firefighting, raising awareness and fostering collaboration within the firefighter sector, and advancing the Canadian Standards for Wildland Firefighters.
Volunteer firefighters respond to far more than just fires, including structure fires in homes, businesses, and on farms. They attend vehicle accidents and extrications, medical and first response emergencies, water rescue operations, public service and safety calls, and wildland and grass fires. They balance emergency response with full-time jobs, families, and community responsibilities and respond to emergencies 24/7, whether from home or work, and without them, emergency response times would increase, rural communities would be left unprotected, insurance costs would rise, and lives, homes, and livelihoods would be at greater risk. They are ordinary people who do extraordinary things, many times without recognition, without compensation, and often without enough resources.
Fire Chief Wickenhauser said that already he sees the cohesive way the two fire halls and the respective communities work together through the system they have established. Although he has only been on the job for less than two weeks, the dedication of the firefighters he is leading remains unchanged. They are neighbours, coworkers, friends, and family, and when people need them most, they show up.
