GOODYEAR, AZ — Goodyear Fire Department unveiled its newest fire station on Thursday which was designed to focus on the health and safety of firefighters.
Fire Station 188, located near Citrus Road and Van Buren Street, "features our most advanced cancer-preventing safety measures and exposure reducing enhancements," the department said, noting this is the third station with this mindful design.
See inside the new station and learn more in the player above.
Over the past several years, ABC15 has reported on cancer rates and health issues involving firefighters.
The Centers for Disease Control says cancer is a leading cause of death for firefighters. Research also suggests firefighters are at a higher risk of certain cancers compared to the general population.
In 2022, the Arizona Board of Regents awarded a $4 million grant to fund a study of about 1,500 Arizona firefighters, aiming to find a new way to reduce and reverse the risk of cancer.
“Firefighters are far more susceptible to get cancer because of the things that we're exposed to,” said Scottsdale Fire Chief Tom Shannon in a previous interview with ABC15. “[We] go to a car fire, go to a trash fire, go to a house fire, we know there's about a dozen carcinogens inside that building, so it's a hazmat call.”
Those carcinogens are caused by forever chemicals, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
Firefighters encounter PFAS in many ways, including burning household items, potential contamination from personal protective equipment, and firefighter foam, which is used to put out burning liquids.
There has also been a push to study cancer risk for wildland firefighters.
Several Valley firefighters have found themselves in legal battles surrounding health, insurance, and cancer coverage.
Just last year, the community gathered to support Goodyear firefighter Gilbert Aguirre. He had an eight-year battle with chronic myeloid leukemia and his doctors said the cancer was from working as a firefighter. His insurance company denied his worker compensation claims saying he can't prove he got cancer while on the job, leaving his family bankrupt.
