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The NIOSH National Firefighter Registry (NFR) for Cancer is the largest effort ever undertaken to understand and reduce risk of cancer among U.S. firefighters. The newsletter delivers the latest news on the NIOSH NFR for Cancer. Subscribe for updates on our recent milestones and upcoming activities.
Greetings from the Manager of the NFR for Cancer
The NIOSH NFR for Cancer has achieved several important milestones over the last few months. The biggest milestone: more than 32,000 firefighters have enrolled in the NFR! The NFR is now the largest cohort of U.S. firefighters ever assembled. The previous record was a pivotal NIOSH cancer study first published in 2013 that included records from 29,993 firefighters from the San Francisco, Chicago, and Philadelphia fire departments. That study greatly enhanced our understanding of firefighters' cancer risk. The NFR will further build upon this foundational knowledge base.
The fact that more than 32,000 firefighters from across the United States have voluntarily registered for the NFR shows just how important this issue is to the fire service. It's a tremendous milestone, but we are just getting started. Please encourage everyone you know in the fire service to enroll. They can get started in just five minutes by visiting https://NFR.cdc.gov.
We achieved another significant milestone in close coordination with the fire service: 60 Gold Helmet departments! These fire departments encouraged at least 50% or more of their active firefighters to enroll in the NFR (or more than 300 firefighters for larger departments). Representing over 25 states, these Gold Helmet departments vary in size from small, rural departments to large, urban departments, and include career, volunteer, and combination departments. If you know of a fire department interested in receiving Gold Helmet recognition, have them email us at NFRegistry@cdc.gov.
We also recently launched a new initiative aimed at recognizing organizations that go above and beyond to support and promote participation in the NFR. Organizations that perform at least three promotion activities for the NFR each year will be recognized as NFR Champions. Learn more about this new initiative on our website.
Alongside our efforts to increase enrollment in the NFR, NIOSH is dedicated to supporting cancer reduction in the fire service, a key aspect of our mission. Discover more about these efforts and our ongoing work below. Much of what we've accomplished over the years could not have been done without the support of our partners. Thanks for all you are doing to advance the mission of the NIOSH NFR for Cancer program!
Kenny Fent, Captain, U.S. Public Health Service, Manager, National Firefighter Registry for Cancer (NFR)
Become an NFR Champion!
Join the NFR in the fight to prevent cancer in the fire service. Fire service and other organizations that actively promote and share the NFR with their networks will be recognized as NFR Champions. NFR Champions will receive a certificate of appreciation, a website badge, and social media posts to announce their recognition. Visit the NFR Champions webpage to learn more or email NFRegistry@cdc.gov to be recognized.
New Videos Featuring the Orange County Fire Authority
New NIOSH videos highlight how all U.S. firefighters can join the NFR and the fight against cancer. The videos feature three Orange County Fire Authority firefighters. Their involvement has been instrumental in showcasing the fire service's commitment to cancer prevention. Thank you for helping us spread the message and inspire others to join the NFR! View the videos:
Request Professionally Printed NFR Materials
NFR communication materials are free to download from our website, and you can also request free printed materials to share. Available materials include fact sheets, posters, palm cards, and more. To request print materials, email us at NFRegistry@cdc.gov.
Gold Helmet Initiative
The list of Gold Helmet Departments continues to grow! We are now up to 60 Gold Helmet Departments from 26 states. Gold Helmet Departments are U.S. fire departments with at least 50% of their active firefighters or more than 300 of their active firefighters enrolled in the NFR.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the newest Gold Helmet Departments:
- Arvada Fire Protection District, CO
- Avondale Fire and Medical, AZ
- Big Sky Fire Department, MT
- City of Maricopa Fire and Medical Department, AZ
- City of Shawnee Fire Department, KS
- Columbus Fire and Emergency Medical Services, GA
- Concord Fire Department, NC
- East Farmingdale Volunteer Fire Company, NY
- Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, VA
- Gilbert Fire and Rescue Department, AZ
- Goodyear Fire Department, AZ
- Greenacres Fire Rescue, FL
- Huntley Fire Protection District, IL
- Iona McGregor Fire District, FL
- Kearney Fire and Rescue Protection District, MO
- Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical, KS
- Liberty Fire Department, MO
- Madeira Beach Fire Department, FL
- Manhattan Fire Department, KS
- Mason City Fire Department, IA
- North Kansas City Fire Department, MO
- Olathe Fire Department, KS
- Orange County Fire Authority, CA
- Pinellas Suncoast Fire and Rescue District, FL
- Ray Township Fire and Rescue, MI
- Rickenbacker International Airport Fire Department, OH
- Riverside Fire Department, MO
- South Burlington Fire Department, VT
- St. Pete Beach Fire Department, FL
- Tolleson Fire Department, AZ
- Town of Palm Beach Fire Rescue, FL
We often receive photos from Gold Helmet departments, and we're excited to share a few below. The gold helmets shown in the next three photos were donated by Dinges Fire Company and Bullard Safety Equipment.
Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services (Maryland) was the first Gold Helmet department to surpass more than 300 total participants in the NFR.
The Des Moines Fire Department (Iowa) has been a big supporter of the NFR since its inception. They even produced their own video about the importance of the NFR.
East Farmingdale Volunteer Fire Company is the first department in New York to be recognized as a Gold Helmet department. Chief Frank Leeb (ret. FDNY) serves as a volunteer at this department. In addition to being a Gold Helmet department, Chief Leeb and the rest of the East Farmingdale Volunteer Fire Company provided footage and remarks for several NFR videos, which are currently available on our website.
Chief Leeb also wrote an interesting article about his department's participation in the NFR for Crackyl magazine's online edition.
Greenacres Fire Rescue (Florida) is one of the more recent Gold Helmet departments. They were able to rapidly increase enrollment among their active firefighters. They donated the helmet in this photo and have offered to share it with other Gold Helmet departments in their region.
New Cancer Prevention Resources
Part of the mission of the NFR program is to help reduce firefighters' risk of cancer. With that goal in mind, NIOSH and the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), part of UL Research Institutes, developed a free interactive online course on Contamination Control Strategies for the Fire Service. This course provides current information about cancer risks, exposure pathways, and various control measures available to firefighters to help lessen their exposures. This course also provides a short module about the NFR for Cancer, which may help your colleagues who are interested in the NFR but haven't yet enrolled.
A new free digital resource, the Cancer Awareness, Prevention, and Education (CAPE) for Volunteer Firefighters toolkit, is available. The toolkit provides volunteer firefighters and departments with materials to support the 11 prevention practices from the 2018 Lavender Ribbon Report. Key CAPE materials include instructional videos, PowerPoint trainings, templates, posters, and more. CAPE was developed as part of the Firefighter Cancer Assessment and Prevention Study. These materials include information about the NFR for Cancer and highlight findings and recommendations from prior NIOSH research.
The Firefighter Cancer Support Network has released guidance on managing personal protective equipment (PPE) contamination. These two documents are about procedures to help reduce firefighters' exposure to contaminated PPE at a fire incident and fire station. The documents incorporate practices based on current research findings from NIOSH and many others.
Conferences and Meetings
The NFR for Cancer program continues to attend conferences and meetings to share information about the NFR and provide direct enrollment support to firefighters across the country. NFR staff are also available to provide virtual presentations upon request (subject to availability). To request a speaker or to share any upcoming fire service-related events, please email us at NFRegistry@cdc.gov.
Scientific Publications
Members of the NFR team, in collaboration with UL Research Institutes' FSRI and Illinois Fire Service Institute, recently published a manuscript titled "Use of undergloves to assess pathways leading to contamination on firefighters' hands" in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. This article, part of the PPE Interface Study, examined exposure and contamination breakthrough onto firefighters' hands during PPE donning and doffing and simulated firefighting operations.
Findings suggest fire suppression gloves are relatively effective at reducing contamination on hands during firefighting activities. However, underglove analysis showed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) contamination to the hands during the donning and doffing phases. This indicates fireground exposures can remain on PPE and gear and transfer to hands after fireground exposure. To minimize PAH exposure, proper hand hygiene through washing or cleansing wipes is recommended after handling PPE or equipment.
