Female Firefighters Participate in Cancer Cohort Study

Recently, female firefighters from the Phoenix Fire Department took part in a Female Firefighter Cancer Cohort Study, being run by the University of Arizona and Florida State University. “We’re taking specific measurements of their gear and their body, and then their going into a live fire training and then we’re going to be collecting some samples afterwards, to measure how those gear measures are associated with changes in combustion and measured in their urine” Michelle Vallenti -Epidemiologist University of Arizona.

The Gear fit AIM portion of the study has participation from 4 departments nationwide and focuses on the turnouts that are worn by female members. “Today specifically what we’re looking at, we’re trying to identify key measures that (departments) can use for measuring women, and also men, we can identify what are the most important measurements and where to take them for protection” Michelle Vallenti -Epidemiologist University of Arizona.

Previous studies have shown that women in the fire service have an 80% rate of ill-fitting PPE which is 4 x that of their male counterparts. “For a long time there has been an assumption that in order to fit women in the fire service we just need to make it shorter and smaller, kinda this term known as pink it and shrink it in male dominated fields where PPE is worn and certainly that doesn’t foot the bill. So, we have shown in some of our work at Florida State that women in the fire service are anthropometrically different meaning their body shapes their body size is different from the general population even. So, they need gear made for women in the fire service. Not a pattern from a male body that’s just tweaked a little bit here and there” Meredith McQuerry Associate Professor Florida State University.

“There’s always been a one size fits all and it’s just basically been the unisex small, medium, large, extra-large. We’re trying to do things that will fit us a little bit better that will equally give us the movement that we need in a fire structure. With this it’s going to help us better for the movement and the flexibility in addition of course to the protection that it provides all firefighters.” Amy Turner Phoenix Fire Department.

This turnout study is a portion of the overall cohort study with approximately 1255 women from over 230 departments in 31 states enrolled.

“So everything that they study today is going to be particular for this study, but then also filter over to that national database. They’re trying to follow firefighters over a 30-year career and beyond into retirement. So that 30-year packet and study and find out what their markers are and try and mitigate cancer in different ways that we can.” Amy Turner Phoenix Fire Department.

The goal of the study is to identify exposures and risk factors for increased stress, cancer and adverse reproductive outcomes in women firefighters to inform future intervention studies.

“I think it’s going to be a huge impact, just having the study in the first place we’re able to start answering these questions that women have. Most of the work if not all of the work we’re doing, it is going to be very impactful for the fire service.” Michelle Vallenti -Epidemiologist University of Arizona.