AFFI Brothers & Sisters:
.
At our 43rd AFFI Convention in Peoria, the delegates unanimously approved a Resolution marking January as Firefighter Cancer Awareness month. In 2021, our IAFF also designated January as Cancer Awareness month.
As we kick off the new year, we want to remind each of you that occupational cancer is the leading cause of death in our profession. Not cardiac disease or stroke, not burns or other traumatic events. Cancer.
It is our duty to ensure that we provide you with as much up to date information and education as possible. While our job certainly has inherent dangers and exposures, we aim to provide you with best practices and protocols that will allow you to reduce or limit the unnecessary risks.
As you may know, our IAFF recently spearheaded legislation that adds certain cancers to the list eligible to receive the Federal Public Safety Officer Benefit and your AFFI recently lead the charge to remove cancer causing PFA’s and other toxins from our bunker gear by 2027 in Illinois.
As your state association, the safety and health of our members is of utmost importance and we want you to take the time to re-familiarize yourself this month with the multiple things you should be doing to limit your potential to cancer causing agents.
We know our job is hazardous and we all took the same oath to protect the life and property of our communities. We also need to remain vigilant and educated on how to best protect ourselves from the multiple and various dangers that are always lurking in this profession.
We hope that you, your local and your department use this month of January to review and update your policies, procedures and work-related habits. Discuss and advocate for early cancer screenings during your physicals and develop a culture that practices good habits. We want all of you to enjoy your retirement after a long and rewarding career.
We will have multiple posts and information to share with you throughout the month so please check back frequently.
As always, should you have questions or concerns, never hesitate to contact us.
.
In Solidarity,
Chuck Sullivan
AFFI President
