The sacrifice didn't end on 9/11.

Throughout September 2026. New stories and resources will be shared during the month, including a new film each Friday and a special anniversary piece on September 11.

The Firefighter Cancer Support Network (FCSN), a national nonprofit that has supported firefighters diagnosed with cancer and their families since 2005. FCSN is also leading the National Initiative for Firefighter Cancer Screening Recommendations.

Twenty-five years after September 11, we know more about the long-term health consequences of occupational exposures and the cancer risks firefighters face throughout their careers.

In 2022, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer classified occupational exposure as a firefighter as carcinogenic to humans. The 25th anniversary is an important moment to honor those who answered the call and paid the ultimate sacrifice, to share what we have learned, and to turn greater awareness into action that can better protect future generations of firefighters.

No. This campaign is about awareness and action. You can help by sharing these stories, learning more about firefighter cancer risks and supporting efforts to advance earlier detection and screening.

If you are a firefighter, explore FCSN's resources to learn more about steps you can take to reduce your risk and advocate for your health.

Yes. All fire departments, volunteer and professional, unions, associations and media are encouraged to share these stories and resources. Approved campaign materials and language are available in the press kit. For additional uses or partnership opportunities, please contact FCSN.

Firefighters and first responders living with cancer, and family members of those who did not survive it. Each recorded themselves, in their own words, answering the same set of questions. Nothing is scripted.

Because the exposures are carcinogenic. In July 2022 the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, classified occupational exposure as a firefighter as carcinogenic to humans, Group 1. That is the agency's highest classification and the same one applied to tobacco smoke and benzene. The evidence was strongest for mesothelioma and bladder cancer, with additional evidence for colon, prostate, and testicular cancer, melanoma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Those exposures are inhaled, absorbed, ingested and carried off the fireground, and they accumulate over a career. The classification describes the occupation as a whole. It does not tell any one firefighter what caused their cancer, and we generally cannot determine that a specific individual's cancer was caused solely by the job, which is why this campaign never attributes a named person's diagnosis to their service.

Scale and duration. Recovery work ran for roughly nine months in an environment loaded with asbestos, benzene, silica, dioxins, heavy metals, and pulverized building debris, often without consistent respiratory protection. Most fireground exposures are measured in minutes. This one was measured in months.

FCSN is not publishing a single figure here. Counts vary by source and by who is included, FDNY, NYPD, Port Authority, other World Trade Center responders, or those who responded at the Pentagon and Shanksville. What is not in dispute is that responders have continued to die from 9/11-related illnesses every year since 2001, and the long-term health toll extends far beyond those who died that day. For official data, the World Trade Center Health Program publishes enrollment and certified-condition figures.

Yes. The lasting health consequences experienced by those who responded on September 11—at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Shanksville—underscore the serious risks that can come with occupational exposures. But these risks are not limited to 9/11 responders. Firefighters across the country are exposed to carcinogens throughout their careers. In 2022, occupational exposure as a firefighter was classified as carcinogenic to humans. This campaign honors those who answered the call on 9/11 while using what we have learned to help protect every firefighter serving today and in the future.

Early detection means screening on a schedule appropriate to a firefighter's exposures and risk. Firefighters should get annual physicals and undergo routine cancer screenings at recommended ages in consultation with their primary care providers. More specific screening recommendations for firefighters are under development. Prevention lowers the odds.

FCSN is developing the first set of cancer screening recommendations written specifically for the fire service, rather than adapting general-population recommendations that assume an average risk profile. Firefighters are not an average-risk population, and existing national screening recommendations are designed for the general public and do not account for the unique occupational exposures firefighters experience.

Because building them takes an extensive scientific and clinical process. Most national screening recommendations are written for the general public rather than for occupations with unique exposures. Firefighters experience complex exposure patterns that vary across an entire career, which makes risk assessment harder than standard population screening models. Recommendations also have to be supported by enough evidence to show that earlier screening improves outcomes without driving unnecessary testing. Until recently there was no national effort to convene the scientific, medical and fire service communities around a single process.

The evidence base got strong enough. The creation of the CDC/NIOSH National Firefighter Registry for Cancer, alongside decades of occupational cancer research, significantly strengthened what is known about firefighter cancer risk and created an opportunity that did not exist before.

The Health and Wellness Advisory Council, convened by FCSN, bringing together nationally recognized leaders in oncology, occupational medicine, firefighter health, epidemiology, public health and fire service leadership.

Following completion of the scientific review and consensus development process, FCSN plans to begin rolling out the National Firefighter Cancer Screening Recommendations in 2027.

FCSN was founded by firefighters and has spent more than two decades standing beside them through prevention, education, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship and family support.

Today, FCSN's key supporters and partners include the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), the Congressional Fire Services Institute, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), Firefighter Close Calls (FFCC), and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), among many other respected fire-service organizations. FCSN is also a founding member of the Fire Service Occupational Cancer Alliance.

Rather than replacing the role of medical organizations, FCSN is serving as the catalyst that unites researchers, clinicians, fire service leaders and stakeholders around recommendations that are scientifically rigorous, broadly supported, and practical for firefighters nationwide.

Three things, none of which require waiting for the recommendations. Train your firefighters using FCSN's Doing It Right education program. Make sure your members understand their cancer screening options and presumptive coverage. And encourage every firefighter to enroll in the NIOSH National Firefighter Registry for Cancer, career or volunteer, active or retired, with or without cancer. Better participation means better data, and better data helps us better understand and reduce cancer in the fire service.

Yes. That is the original reason FCSN exists. FCSN provides one-on-one mentoring from firefighters who have been through it, plus support for families. Contact FCSN directly.

Career or volunteer, active or retired. Firefighters, EMS, and immediate family.