Recently, the county has had its share of fires.

We support the dangerous work of the response teams from the many fire departments that serve Butler County.

A firefighter’s job is dangerous. Fire is unpredictable. Some structures built over decades have false ceilings and unexpected spaces. There are also toxic fumes and dangerous environmental conditions.

We wonder: what are the long-term effects on the health of fire responders?

In a May, 2017, report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seven years before, researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) launched a multiyear study to examine whether firefighters have a higher risk of cancer and other causes of death because of job exposures.

According to the CDC’s website, the study was a joint effort led by researchers at NIOSH in collaboration with researchers at the National Cancer Institute and the University of California at Davis Department of Public Health Sciences and supported by the U.S Fire Administration. This study was completed in late 2015.

The study included nearly 30,000 career firefighters from Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco who were employed between 1950 and 2009. NIOSH researchers found that, when compared to the number of cancers expected, using U.S. population rates, the firefighters in this study had a modest increase in cancer diagnoses (9% increase) and cancer-related deaths (14% increase).

Understanding the increased risks faced by firefighters can help target prevention efforts, according to the CDC.

We say additional studies by NIOSH and the CDC on the long-term health impacts of this dangerous work are needed.

— AA