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Firefighters face higher risk of cancer and heart attacks than public, UCLan research finds

Posted on - 16th January, 2023 - 12:00pm | Author - | Posted in - Education, Health, People, Preston City Centre, Preston News, UCLan, University campus
Professor Anna Stec, UCLan

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has completed a significant piece of research on behalf of the Fire Brigades Union that has resulted in five papers.

It reveals a significantly higher mortality rate for firefighters compared to the general public and delves into other physical and mental health factors.

The research, commissioned by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and independently carried out by UCLan, is based on a survey of over 10,000 serving and retired firefighters across the UK, representing almost a quarter (around 24 per cent) of the UK’s total firefighter workforce.

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The study, led by Anna Stec, Professor in Fire Chemistry and Toxicity at UCLan, was carried out by obtaining mortality records from the National Records of Scotland – although the results are relevant to the United Kingdom as a whole due to the same conditions faced by firefighters in Scotland and the rest of the UK, with operational procedures consistent across the whole of the country.

The findings, published in the Scientific Reports journal, show that 4.1 per cent of surveyed firefighters were found to have a cancer diagnosis.

Instances of cancer among firefighters aged 35-39 are up to 323 per cent higher than in the general population in the same age category.

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Riccardo la Torre, Fire Brigades Union national officer, said: “We already knew that fire contaminants were very likely causing cancer and other diseases in firefighters. Now, we have evidence that cements that belief and also shows that contaminants can impact their mental health.

“No firefighter should suffer unnecessarily and there is much more that fire services can be doing to reduce exposure to fire contaminants.”

UK firefighters who have served at least 15 years are found to be 1.7 times as likely to develop cancer than those who have served less time.

Skin cancer is by far the most prevalent cancer reported – 36 per cent of those firefighters with cancer have been diagnosed with skin cancer.

Professor Stec said: “The findings of the UK Firefighter Contamination Survey not only confirm what we already know, that firefighters face a higher risk of cancer than the general population, but also brings to light new challenges firefighters have to face.”

The issue has also been raised in the Scottish Parliament, with Maggie Chapman MSP bringing a motion to Parliament and both Chapman and Pauline McNeill MSP raising the issue at First Minister’s Questions.  

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