Recently I was watching the news and saw two working fires; both were fully involved large, old residences. There was fire blowing out of every window and through the roof in several locations. The apparatus had plenty of water and good access to the houses.

At one fire, the department had aerial ladders set up and firefighters on the roof. The wind was blowing, and more firefighters were climbing through the black smoke to assist those on the roof. It looked so macho; John Travolta in Ladder 49 had nothing on them.

The ascending firefighters looked really cool because they weren't wearing SCBA. In fact, none of the firefighters on the roof had SCBA even though they were in a sea of thick black smoke. I guess if you are trying to save an already-destroyed house and you want to look good while chopping more holes in an already-vented roof with threatened structural integrity, then SCBA might get in the way. I can see their point.

I guess none of those firefighters were breathing heavy because, after all, they were looking macho. I wonder how many of them quit smoking because they were convinced that tobacco was hazardous to their health but think smoking tar roof shingles, building materials and home furnishings isn't.

Have you seen firefighters extinguishing a fully involved car fire without SCBA? Of course, there's no need to wear SCBA during overhaul because there is hardly any smoke present. The large amounts of hydrocarbons in the atmosphere as a result of combustion aren't harmful because they've been diluted by the fresh air.

That's enough sarcasm. The painful part is that we all know these things happen. Increased risk of kidney, bladder and brain disease; lung cancer; and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and leukemia all have been linked to firefighting. A University of Cincinnati team analyzed more than 100,000 firefighters and substantiated this fact, yet this thinking still exists in the fire service

Why is this? Is it because the fire service used to have a certain cultural way of looking at the profession? As I've heard Chief Billy Goldfeder say:

“We always knew to wear our SCBA, but we didn't always listen. In some towns, we rarely listen. We knew wearing SCBA made sense, but we didn't really worry about it when there was just some smoke. We also never thought that a little soot on our face or hands was a problem. We never really thought about those outside, such as the chiefs, the pump operators, the safety folks, the sector bosses, the EMS personnel and even the fire photographers and others who were actually in the smoke … even though it would clear ‘in just a little while.’”

How true. But after what I saw on the news and what I continue to see in many departments and with individual firefighters, this type of thinking is still embedded in fire service culture.

Fire service leaders service must do everything they can to change this unsafe culture. The least chiefs can do is enforce a strict policy of wearing SCBA in any hazardous condition, whether smoke is visible or not. But there is more to this problem, and wearing SCBA isn't the only step needed to prevent cancer in firefighters.

Grace LeMasters, Ph.D.; Ash Genaidy, Ph.D.; and James Lockey, M.D. are leading a University of Cincinnati research project investigating cancer risk associated with working as a firefighter. Their findings were published in the November issue of Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, which reported that firefighters are exposed to many compounds designated as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. These include benzene, diesel engine exhaust, chloroform, soot, styrene and formaldehyde. These substances can be inhaled and absorbed through the skin. These carcinogens can enter the body not only at a fire or emergency scene but at the fire station as well.

The United States must take the lead on firefighter cancer prevention. Every fire station needs to institute an awareness program. Lockey wrote that there is a critical need for additional research into firefighter protective gear and recommends that firefighters meticulously wash their entire bodies to remove soot and other residues from fires to avoid skin exposure. If not, firefighters may bring these carcinogens home to their families.

I am in absolute agreement with Lockey. But why did it take the cancer-related deaths of so many fellow firefighters to come to that conclusion? What will it take for the nation to listen? My worry is that even when better protective gear is developed, it won't be worn properly by firefighters who may consider it uncomfortable or unmacho. Would it be more important to them to suck up smoke than to be safe because firefighters are invincible and the gear is inconvenient? Let's hope not.

Too many families have suffered from all of this, and it's time to stop it. The fire service is good at funerals; I will go out on a limb and say that we are the best at giving funerals. But some of the time and energy we spend at producing spectacular funerals could be spent developing strict standard operating procedures and increasing safety awareness. We must all read, study and apply this research to make sure everyone goes home and stays around for a while.

The newly established Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation is dedicated to “extinguishing” firefighter cancer. The organization is developing state-of-the-art education, awareness and prevention programs. According to its Web site, www.ffcancer.org, the organization supports active and retired firefighters by promoting occupation-specific cancer screening and wellness testing. They are asking for volunteers, medical and fire service advisers, benefactors, and partnerships with organizations of similar goals. For further information, visit the Web site, call 866-411 FFCF, or write Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation Inc., P.O. Box 2830, Wilmington, Del. 19805.

As members of the fire service, remember that early screening, wellness-testing and establishing baselines are key to healthy and full lives. It's your obligation to stay healthy and remind your firefighters to be aware of the hidden hazards of the profession. Wear SCBA and protective gear faithfully, and remind your brothers and sisters to do the same. It isn't macho to walk through clouds of toxic smoke and breathe the products of combustion even after the fire is out to prove something. Your family needs you now and in the future.

Life is too beautiful to lose it for silly and careless reasons like the enjoyment of smoking tar shingles, couches, countertops, tires and dashboards.

Chief Mike Chiaramonte, CFO, is a 40-year member of the Lynbrook (N.Y.) Fire Department and its former chief. Chiaramonte is a past chairman and board member of the IAFC Volunteer and Combination Officers Section Board and past president of the IAFC Eastern Division. He's also a National Fire Academy Instructor and on the advisory board to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Chiaramonte is a state EMT-B. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Houston and a master's degree from Hofstra University, both in communications education.