Building the foundation: Canadian firefighters powering the future of cancer research

Posted June 26, 2025

A yellow firefighter helmet with black spots, hung up alongside firefighter uniforms. Text reads: "Canadian firefighters powering the future of cancer research."

As wildfires continue to devastate large swaths of Canada, conversations about frontline safety and long-term health are once again making headlines. But for those working in fire halls year-round, the risks have never been seasonal. Firefighters face a higher burden of chronic disease, particularly cancer, and are often underrepresented in long-term health research.

That’s why Healthy Future Sask (HFS), Saskatchewan’s regional cohort of the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath), launched a focused recruitment effort in partnership with the Saskatoon Fire Department earlier this year.

CanPath is Canada’s largest population health study, following over 330,000 participants to better understand how genetics, environment, lifestyle, and occupational exposures impact long-term health. HFS contributes to this national effort by enrolling participants from across Saskatchewan into a platform that supports cutting-edge research on chronic disease, prevention, and population health.

The firefighter initiative is part of a broader push to fill gaps in cancer research by including groups who have historically been underrepresented. The goal is to build a more complete picture of firefighter health and create a research platform that can inform prevention, policy, and system-level change.

“Firefighters have a higher incidence of cancer and mortality than the general population, and many of them are acutely aware of that,” said Samantha Mapletoft, former Operations Manager at HFS. “They want to contribute to research that will protect their peers and future firefighters. There’s a real sense of purpose.”

A new kind of partnership

In January 2025, during Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month, HFS set up an eight-day satellite clinic at the central downtown fire hall in Saskatoon. Firefighters could complete in-person assessments, such as bloodwork, surveys, and grip strength tests, on site, with support from the HFS team.

Participation was made possible by strong collaboration with Saskatoon Fire, including support from the union and daily briefings with four city battalions. The effort reached dozens of participants, including active members, retirees, inspectors, investigators, and clerical staff who handle contaminated equipment.

“There was a lot of curiosity and good questions, especially around who has access to the data, and how it’s used,” said Rielly Knock, Director of Community Relationships at Saskatoon Fire. “But once people understood what the study was about and how their information would be protected, there was a real sense of pride. We don’t have enough Canadian data to study firefighter health. This is a chance to change that.”

Participation also had an immediate impact. The recruitment effort helped increase male enrollment in HFS from 23% to 28%, a significant step toward making the broader study population more balanced and inclusive.

“There was a lot of good-natured competition around grip strength scores,” Samantha laughed. “But behind that, you could feel the energy. They saw the value in what they were contributing to.”

Closing a national research gap

Firefighters face significantly higher rates of cancer than the general population, yet they remain underrepresented in long-term health research. According to Health Canada’s 2024 National Framework on Cancers Linked to Firefighting, a 2014 U.S. study of nearly 30,000 career firefighters found a 9% higher risk of developing cancer and a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer compared to the general population (Daniels et al., 2014).

A more recent Ontario-based study by the Occupational Cancer Research Centre also found increased risks for several cancers, including testicular, melanoma, prostate, colon, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, compared to other workers (Sritharan et al., 2022).

Despite these known risks, firefighters make up less than 1% of participants in most provinces contributing to CanPath’s national health data platform. It’s a research gap with real consequences, and one that this initiative is working to close.

HFS and CanPath are closing this gap not only through targeted recruitment but by building partnerships that will support long-term research on occupational and environmental exposures. That includes collaborations with the Workers’ Compensation Board of Saskatchewan, a new firefighter cancer working group, and plans to expand recruitment to Regina, Prince Albert, and rural departments across the province.

This work also intersects with broader environmental health conversations, especially as wildfire season becomes longer, more frequent, and more intense. While not all urban firefighters are deployed to wildfire response, many still encounter wildfire smoke in their regions, or support clean-up and recovery efforts.

“These exposures vary widely, from frontline work to gear handling, to time spent in fire halls after an event,” said Samantha. “There’s real value in better understanding how those different roles interact with environmental risk.”

As Rielly added, “It’s still early days in terms of data for career departments, volunteer departments, and wildland crews. But this is how it starts, by making it easier for people to participate and asking the right questions up front.”

Advancing the right to a healthy environment

This initiative also aligns with Canada’s growing recognition of environmental health as a public right. With the passage of Bill S-5, Canadians now have a legally recognized right to a healthy environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

For those on the front lines—firefighters, first responders, and support staff—ensuring that right means investing in the data, policies, and protections that reduce their long-term risk.

“Years ago, coming back from a call covered in soot was a badge of honour,” said Samantha. “Now, departments are leading the way in decontamination practices and cancer prevention. Research is what helps us move the whole system forward.”

For HFS and CanPath, the work in Saskatoon is just the beginning. It’s a model for building trust, closing data gaps, and giving health researchers the tools they need to better protect those who protect us.

For more information, please contact:

Megan Fleming
Communications & Knowledge Translation Officer
Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath)
info@canpath.ca

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