MESQUITE – January marks Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month. It’s a time meant to bring attention to the increased health risks faced by the men and women who keep us safe.
Several fire departments, locally and nationally, are investing in efforts to not only prevent cancers but to also detect them as early as possible.
The Mesquite Fire Department is proactive in its approach to keep its crew safe. Once a year, every Mesquite firefighter is put through a gamut of tests.
They undergo a physical with a doctor; examined for everything from their eyesight to their mental health. Their throat and abdomen are closely examined in an ultrasound, where a technician is looking for any plaque or blockage.
And then there’s the not-so-leisurely jog on the treadmill to test how their hearts perform under the kind of stress that’s unavoidable in their job
“We’re in very poisonous and toxic environments,” Mesquite Fire Chief Rust Wilson said. “We have to do everything we can to mitigate the effects of that on the human body.”