A fire outbreak either at home, office, or any other place is one of the most dreadful events. Over time, countless people have experienced their properties being razed down by the fire while they helplessly looked on, unable to help the situation. For most people, it is this powerlessness to save their properties from the burning flames that makes a fire outbreak situation even more dreadful and frustrating.
However, thanks to firefighters (professionals who have been specially trained to fight and minimize the effect of fire outbreaks), people are no longer as helpless during fire outbreak occurrences as they used to be, seeing that they can now call a team of firefighters to come help extinguish the fire and save the situation.
However, it seems like the lives of these saviors are being sacrificed daily on their duty posts while trying to save other lives and properties. This is because they become extremely exposed to one of the deadliest diseases on Earth today – cancer. It is reported by a 2016 research by the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety) that firefighters in the United States of America are at a 9 percent greater risk of being diagnosed for cancer than the rest of the U.S citizens.
Another research study by the International Association of Firefighters in 2017 reports that cancer is the disease that causes the most death among firefighters, with a 61% rate of career line-of-duty deaths among firefighters between 2002 and 2017 being caused by it.
These stats are quite alarming, and show that something must be done quickly to stop these unfortunate deaths of our noble firefighters.
Why is Cancer the Leading Cause of Death among Firefighters?
The reason why cancer has become such a frequently occurring disease among our firefighters today is not farfetched from the fact that landed properties today are built with more synthetic materials and furnished with almost everything synthetic. Thus, when there is a fire outbreak situation, properties do not only burn faster and hotter, they also release more toxic gasses into the atmosphere.
These toxic materials that are being emitted tend to stick on the uniforms of the firefighters, and from there it can easily transfer to their skin. More, during the process of firefighting, firefighters are very likely to breathe in these toxics too, all increasing their chances of contracting cancer.
How Can We Save our Firefighters?
Of course, our firefighters deserve to be saved too, and to do this, we have to cut down on the amount of synthetics we put into building and furnishing our properties.
More, firefighting outfits and departments could use some more funding to help them improve on their hygiene and facilities, as well as health care packages.
It is no doubt that firefighters do quite a lot in helping to save lives and properties from damages caused by fire, and they put themselves at risk in the process. There may be surprising ways, such as reconsidering the materials we use, that can greatly reduce the risks posed to firefighters.
Fire Accident Lawyer
Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C., represents people and their families who have been injured or killed as a result of fire accidents. Our firm handles personal injury and wrongful death claims resulting from vehicle fires, industrial fires, building fires and fires on oil rigs and oil fields near Eagle Ford Shale, Texas, as well as others. If you need help, contact us now.
