ROANOKE, Va. – Firefighters run toward danger every day — but one of the biggest threats they face may not show up until years after the call is over.
Virginia is expanding funding to help cover cancer screening costs for firefighters, with the goal of catching the disease earlier and improving outcomes.
Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Chief Travis Griffith says the risks aren’t always immediate.
“I mean, just in Roanoke County, we’ve had people, we’ve had members who have been through prostate cancer, colon cancer, melanoma, skin cancer, and we currently have a member that has multiple myeloma, which is kind of a blood cancer that affects his system.”
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the fire service. Repeated exposure to smoke, toxic chemicals and carcinogens increases risk over time. According to the International Association of Firefighters, nearly 80% of member line-of-duty deaths were due to cancer in 2025.
Removing barriers to care
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger introduced a budget amendment in late June before lawmakers approved it. The amendment provides $2 million per year to establish a new grant program supporting localities with cancer screenings for the next two years. The fund can help cover up to $350 per screening. The funding currently applies only to career firefighters — volunteer firefighters are not included.
Union leaders say the expanded funding helps remove barriers that may have previously stopped firefighters from getting screened.
Drew Mitchell, president of International Association of Firefighters Local 3194 Roanoke County Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Union, shared a stark statistic.
“Firefighters are 9 percent more likely to receive a cancer diagnosis than the general public and 14 percent more likely to die from a cancer diagnosis than the general public.”
Griffith says cultural resistance within the profession can also stand in the way.
“A lot of people don’t want to go get screened. You know, it’s kind of the manly thing of the fire service. Maybe I don’t want to know, but we’ve got to tear those walls down.”
Mitchell echoed that sentiment, pointing to what’s ultimately at stake.
“At the end of the day, we want to be healthy and we want to be able to retire and spend time with our families.”
Awareness is next
As the funding rolls out, both union leaders and local department officials say the hope is for the grant to continue past the current two-year window — and to eventually include volunteer firefighters.
Griffith made clear he believes the conversation needs to go further.
“You know, you’ve got to take the preface off the word firefighters, career volunteers, firefighters are firefighters. They’re dealing with the same things that we’re dealing with. So yeah, it needs to expand to cover all firefighters.”
The focus now shifts to awareness — making sure firefighters know these screenings are available and take advantage of them. Prevention, leaders say, is becoming a growing priority across the profession.