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BRFD stresses importance of Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month while fighting blaze on Plank Road
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BATON ROUGE - January is Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month, and the disease is the leading cause for line-of-duty deaths in firefighters across the nation.
As the Baton Rouge Fire Department was working to contain the blaze on Plank Road early Wednesday morning, Chief Michael Kimble stressed the importance of cancer risk while battling fires.
In the last five years, 68% of firefighters that are on the firefighters' memorial have passed away because of cancer. They're exposed to chemicals, carcinogens, toxins, and diseases every time they respond to an active fire.
There are several steps they take to try and keep themselves protected. One of those is cleaning and making sure they're thoroughly wiping everything down, from their trucks to their equipment, and immediately taking cooler showers to wash off those particles and smoke that can be absorbed into the skin.
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