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What Percentage of Firefighters Get Cancer? The Numbers Every Chief Should Know

by | Jul 27, 2026 | Firefighter Health

firefighters cancer

Ask ten firefighters what percentage of them will get cancer, and someone will say 68 percent. It gets repeated at trainings, in union halls, and across social media. It is also not what the research says. The real numbers are serious enough on their own, and as a chief, you deserve the accurate version rather than the viral one. Here is what the largest studies actually found, why the job itself is now classified alongside tobacco as a known carcinogen, and what both mean for how you protect your crew.

DISCLAIMER: This is general information, not legal advice. NDS Wellness is a healthcare provider, not a law firm. Whether any specific obligation applies to your workforce depends on your industry, exposures, and jurisdiction, and should be confirmed with your safety team and employment counsel.

Key Insights

  • The “68 percent” figure is a misread of the data: No credible study shows that two-thirds of firefighters get cancer. That number misrepresents the research, and the Firefighter Cancer Support Network has publicly corrected it.
  • Firefighters face a 9 percent higher cancer diagnosis rate: The landmark NIOSH study of nearly 30,000 career firefighters found a 9 percent higher rate of cancer diagnoses and a 14 percent higher rate of cancer deaths than the general US population.
  • The job is now a Group 1 carcinogen: In 2022, the World Health Organization’s cancer agency reclassified firefighting as “carcinogenic to humans,” the same evidence tier as tobacco and benzene.
  • Cancer is the leading line-of-duty killer: The IAFF reports that cancer caused roughly two-thirds of career firefighter line-of-duty deaths between 2002 and 2019.
  • Early detection is the lever you control: You cannot remove every carcinogen from the job, but regular, on-site screening helps catch cancer at the stage when it is most treatable.

So, What Percentage of Firefighters Get Cancer?

There is no single, clean percentage, and any source that hands you one precise number is oversimplifying. What the research consistently shows is a meaningfully elevated risk, not a coin flip.

Where the “68 Percent” Myth Comes From

The claim that 68 percent of firefighters will get cancer has circulated for years. The Firefighter Cancer Support Network, one of the most trusted voices in the fire service, has directly addressed it and describes it as a misrepresentation of the underlying data. The studies never concluded that most firefighters get cancer. They concluded that firefighters get cancer at higher rates than the public, which is a different and more precise claim.

What the Research Actually Measures

Cancer studies rarely report that a set percentage of a group will get cancer. Instead, they compare how often a group is diagnosed against how often you would expect based on the general population. That comparison is where the real firefighter numbers live, and they are concerning enough without exaggeration.

The NIOSH Study: 9 Percent More Diagnoses, 14 Percent More Deaths

The most authoritative data comes from a multi-year study led by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the federal agency responsible for worker safety research.

The Largest US Firefighter Cancer Study to Date

Between 2010 and 2015, NIOSH, working with the National Cancer Institute and the University of California, Davis, studied nearly 30,000 career firefighters from Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco who served at any time between 1950 and 2009. It remains the largest study of its kind in the United States.

The Headline Findings

Compared with the general US population, the firefighters in the study had a 9 percent higher rate of cancer diagnoses and a 14 percent higher rate of dying from cancer. The increases were driven mainly by cancers of the respiratory, digestive, and urinary systems. NIOSH itself has noted that some media coverage overstated these findings, which is exactly why the accurate numbers matter.

The Cancers That Show Up Most

The elevated risk is not spread evenly. Certain cancers appear far more often in firefighters, and knowing which ones shapes what a screening program should actually look for.

Mesothelioma and Asbestos-Linked Cancers

The NIOSH study was the first to identify an excess of mesothelioma in US firefighters, at roughly twice the rate of the general population. Researchers linked the finding to asbestos exposure in older burning structures.

Digestive, Urinary, and Reproductive Cancers

Firefighters in the research showed a higher risk of esophageal cancer, roughly 62 percent higher for diagnosis according to NIOSH data, and earlier meta-analysis found about a two-fold excess of testicular cancer. Researchers also observed excess bladder and prostate cancers appearing at younger ages than usual.

Why the Job Itself Is Now a Known Carcinogen

In 2022, the science reached a turning point that every chief should understand.

The IARC Group 1 Classification

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer arm of the World Health Organization, reclassified occupational exposure as a firefighter as “carcinogenic to humans,” its highest category (Group 1). That places the job in the same evidence tier as tobacco smoking and benzene. The classification was based on sufficient evidence linking the work to mesothelioma and bladder cancer, with more limited evidence for several other cancers.

What Group 1 Does and Does Not Mean

Here is an important nuance the American Cancer Society points out. A Group 1 classification means there is strong evidence that the exposure can cause cancer. It does not, by itself, say how large that risk is for any one person. In plain terms, the science is now settled that the job carries a real cancer risk, even though the size of that risk varies by individual, role, and years on the line.

Cancer Is the Leading Line-of-Duty Killer

The clearest picture of the human cost comes from line-of-duty death data. The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) reports that cancer caused roughly two-thirds of career firefighter line-of-duty deaths between 2002 and 2019. For the modern fire service, cancer has quietly become a larger threat than the fires themselves.

What Chiefs Can Actually Do About It

You cannot eliminate carcinogen exposure from firefighting. Detection timing, however, is something a department can control, and it changes outcomes.

The Case for Regular Screening

Most of the cancers driving firefighter risk are far more survivable when caught early. That is the entire argument for routine, comprehensive screening built around firefighter-specific risks, rather than a standard annual physical that was never designed with this exposure profile in mind.

Removing the Barriers to Getting Screened

The screening that gets skipped is the one that requires a day off and a drive across town. Bringing screening to the station, across every shift, is the most reliable way to make sure the whole crew actually gets checked, not just the members who happen to have time.

How NDS Wellness Screens Firefighters for Cancer

NDS Wellness was built to close exactly this gap. Our firefighter cancer screening program brings physician-led screening directly to your station, on every shift. Each firefighter gets a real appointment, not a finger-prick at a folding table, including comprehensive blood work and cancer screening tuned to the risks the research above identifies.

Results are explained by a physician, and follow-up care is coordinated, so a concerning finding becomes a clear next step rather than a dead end. Because we arrive in a mobile wellness clinic, your department can screen the whole crew without pulling anyone off shift. It is one part of our broader firefighter health and wellness program, which also aligns station exams with NFPA standards.

 

Sources

Frequently asked questions

What is a safety culture?

A safety culture is the shared set of values, habits, and expectations that determine how people in an organization behave around risk, especially when no one is supervising them. It shows up in daily behavior, such as whether workers report hazards freely, rather than in written policies alone.

What are some real examples of a safety culture?

Practical examples include leaders following the same safety rules as frontline staff, blameless near-miss reporting, safety committees with real worker representation, fatigue-aware scheduling, redesigning hazardous tasks rather than posting reminders, on-site health screening during work hours, and extending all of it to contractors.

How is safety culture different from a safety program?

A safety program is the documented structure of policies, training, and procedures. Safety culture is whether people actually follow it when nobody is watching. You can have a thorough program on paper and a weak culture in practice, which is usually where injuries come from.

What are OSHA's core elements of a safety and health program?

OSHA’s Recommended Practices identify seven core elements: management leadership, worker participation, hazard identification and assessment, hazard prevention and control, education and training, program evaluation and improvement, and communication and coordination for host employers, contractors, and staffing agencies.

What is Total Worker Health?

Total Worker Health is a NIOSH approach defined as policies, programs, and practices that integrate protection from work-related safety and health hazards with the promotion of injury and illness prevention to advance worker well-being. NIOSH launched the program in 2011 to close the gap between safety and health efforts.

How do you start building a culture of safety?

Start narrow rather than launching everything at once. Pick one visible leadership behavior and one access improvement, set a baseline, run them for two quarters, then measure honestly. Proven small wins create the credibility needed for larger changes later.

How do you measure whether a safety culture is working?

Track leading indicators rather than only injury counts. Useful measures include near-miss reports submitted, hazards corrected and closed, time to resolve reported issues, training completion, and participation rates in health screening. Rising report volume often signals growing trust rather than worsening conditions.

Does safety culture actually affect employee health?

The connection is the entire basis of the Total Worker Health approach. Factors like fatigue, chronic stress, and undetected cardiovascular disease affect both injury risk and long-term health, so a culture that addresses them influences outcomes well beyond the incident log.

How does on-site health screening fit into safety culture?

On-site screening removes the biggest barrier to preventative care, which is access. Holding screening at the workplace during paid hours signals that the organization values employee time and health, and it reaches shift workers who rarely make traditional appointments.

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MICHAEL KETSLAKH

CEO @ NDS Wellness

Michael Ketslakh is passionate about catching health problems before they become emergencies. As founder and Owner of National Diagnostic Services, which he has led into an independent diagnostic testing company operating across 33 states, he helps bring physician-led screening directly to workplaces, fire departments, and police departments, so early detection reaches the people who need it most.

Heidi Enders

Director of Corporate Services @ NDS Wellness 

Heidi Enders is passionate about making preventative care easy to reach. As Director of Corporate Services at NDS Wellness, she helps design and deliver on-site health screening programs for employers and first responders, removing the barriers of participation so teams get real, physician-led care where they already are.

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