The Titusville Fire Department received 90 new hoods that help block smoke and cancer-causing particulate common in fighting fires.

The new equipment was part of the department’s personal protective equipment that was approved for the 2020-2021 budget.

Cancer is the most dangerous threat to firefighter health and safety today.

• Cancer caused 66 percent of the career firefighter line-of-duty deaths from 2002 to 2019, according to data from the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). Heart disease caused 18 percent of career LODDs for the same period.
• Cancer caused 70 percent of the line-of-duty deaths for career firefighters in 2016.
• Firefighters have a 9 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14 percent higher risk of dying from cancer than the general U.S. population, according to research by the CDC/National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH).

The cancers mostly responsible for this higher risk were respiratory (lung, mesothelioma), 
GI (oral cavity, esophageal, large intestine), and kidney.

Under the law Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last year, firefighters diagnosed with one of the 21 designated cancer types after July 2019 receive $25,000 cash from their city employers and reimbursement for any out-of-pocket medical bills incurred while they work and within 10 years following their retirement.

To qualify, they must also have health insurance, have worked for at least five years with the same employer and have not used tobacco those five years.

Under the law, firefighters diagnosed with one of the 21 designated cancer types after July 2019 receive $25,000 cash from their city employers and reimbursement for any out-of-pocket medical bills incurred while they work and within 10 years following their retirement.

To qualify, they must also have health insurance, have worked for at least five years with the same employer and have not used tobacco those five years.