It’s no secret that firefighters face many risks in the work they do, and cancer is proving to be a leading health risk for them according to new research . With the heightened attention on the increased rates of cancer and cancer-related deaths among firefighters emerging from this research, departments like the Lakeland Fire Department (LFD) are being moved to action to keep its emergency responders and their families safe.
To educate citizens on what the department is doing to keep its firefighters safe, so that they in turn can help keep citizens safe, the department produced a 14-minute video. The production visually details what the preventative measures are. The video also features firefighters at the department that are cancer survivors explaining their personal experiences and why prevention is so important in the fight against the cancer epidemic among firefighters.
The Lakeland Fire Department has gradually made changes over the past two years to help prevent exposure to carcinogens by its firefighters. With the formation of new advocacy and research groups in the Florida Fire Service, like the Florida Firefighters Safety and Health Collaborative and Firefighters Against Cancer Epidemic (F.A.C.E), LFD has taken a more active role than ever in the past year by joining these organizations and making significant changes in how firefighters respond to and clean up after incidents.
The extent of the preventative measures being taken by the Lakeland Fire Department are significant and merit awareness so that citizens, employees of the department, and other fire departments can become more knowledgeable on what is being done to prevent occupational cancers and how prevention efforts can save lives.
This video is a major part of the department’s Health and Safety: It’s Personal campaign which focuses on several health concerns for firefighters; including occupational cancer prevention, mental health, physical health, and personal safety on the job.
