No San Antonio Firefighters Have Died from Cancer Since 2023

The San Antonio Fire Department is beyond proud but it has nothing to do with making a daring rescue or stopping a challenging fire.

The reason to boast and celebrate -- no firefighter has died from cancer since 2023.

A cultural change and wellness programs with cancer screenings have made the difference, KSAT reported. 

Four years ago, Lt. Carlos Esquivel took a test offered at a wellness fair. It saved his life.

“The fair, it caught my cancer. I had melanoma. I was able to take care of it. It’s one of the quickest spreading cancers, so if you don’t catch it, if we wouldn’t have had this fair, I don’t think I’d have gone to a dermatologist," he said, adding that without the test, the reporter would be talking with his wife.

When it was mentioned that the outcome could have been different, he said, “Yes, you’d be talking to my wife.”

Wearing a soot-covered helmet or gear is longer looked upon as symbols of bravery -- far from it. 

“A huge culture shift. Everybody’s big and macho until you’re not big and macho,” Esquivel said.

Emergency Services Deputy Chief Brandon Murray says personnel have more thann bought into the programs to keep them safe. 

“To be a large department like this and hit those markers, that is overwhelming. I don’t know any other department that can do this. We swap your gear out, we give you opportunities to take a shower, we give you opportunities to clean yourself, your gear, the apparatus.”

Firefighter/Paramedic Apolinar Lerma, who joined the department during the cancer-prevetion culture shift, tested positive for Barrett’s Esophagus, a condition that can turn into cancer.

He received the diagnosis after taking a test at a wellness fair. 

“Got it done, didn’t think anything of it. About a month later, I saw I had a voicemail. Esophageal cancer, it’s one of those that people don’t usually know until it’s too late,” Lerma said. “It was scary, eye-opening.”

The next wellness fair is scheduled for Feb. 7-8.

Murray added: “Retirees, you need to come. We want you to come. This is not just for active firefighters. We want to take care of those who went before us.”