The death of a Phoenix firefighter from cancer has his colleagues concerned for their own health.
Firefighter Brian Beck Jr., 31, died of occupational cancer Sunday, KPHO-TV reports. He had been a third-generation firefighter and served with the Phoenix department for eight years.
"We're worried because we love our profession, we love what we do for our communities, but we are concerned it is an epidemic for us," Bryan Jeffries, president of United Phoenix Firefighters, told the TV station. Beck's death is the second stemming from occupational cancer for the department this year.
Because today's houses and buildings—as well as their contents—are made of chemicals that turn toxic when they burn, firefighters are potentially exposed to carcinogens during calls, Jeffries said. That's why better gear and equipment decontamination is crucial.
"Where we really need help is on a technical side with our gear," Jeffries told KPHO. "Frankly, the gear that our firefighters wear today has not technologically changed dramatically in the last 30 years, and it's just not enough to protect them from these carcinogens."
