EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The El Paso Fire Department (EPFD) is partnering with the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) to raise awareness in the local community that firefighters are at a dangerously high risk of developing occupational cancer.
The partnership also seeks to analyze how to improve local services and efforts to streamline access to early cancer screenings and treatment services.
“No other discipline in our profession is going to be affected by cancer like your first responder population. So this is a very important situation and topic for me because I am a fireman, and I do believe that we need to bring more awareness, not just to prevention, but screening (as well), along with education to try to reduce those startling statistics related to cancer within our profession,” said Taron Peebles, a battalion chief with the EPFD.
According to the IAFF, occupational cancer is the leading cause of line-of-duty death among firefighters. Firefighters have a 9% higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer, and a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer than the general population in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety.
Decades of research have supported the correlation between occupational cancer and firefighting, according to the Firefighter Cancer Support Network.
The ACS highlights that in their profession, firefighters can be exposed to a number of known carcinogens when taking on a hazardous environment.
“Cancer doesn’t discriminate and firemen are exposed to a lot more toxins. And so this is where we (ACS) come into play, (talking) about prevention, early detection based on those exposures. So this is a great opportunity to elaborate more on what those needs are, and to come together as a community to prevent cancer,” said Martha Zepeda, associate director for community partnerships with the national ACS.
But despite the alarming statistics correlating occupational cancer with firefighting, Peebles said there are many hurdles at both the national and local level for firefighters to get access to the services needed to combat cancer within the profession.
“What we lack, as far as first responders and firefighters, is access to early screening, access to early care, access to early interventions, be it through research and or additional medications. You have to remember, the United States Preventive Services Task Force has certain protocols, policies, and procedures based on age that limit and/or hinder firefighters’ access,” Peebles said.
Further delaying access to the services firefighters require, Peebles said that El Paso currently lags behind in cancer treatment services and specialists. Because of that, Peebles said that local firefighters are forced to seek care in other cities like Houston, creating an even larger financial strain on them.
“Here locally in El Paso, many specialist oncologists are not really aware of the true hazards and occupational dangers that firefighters are exposed to, along with other first responders,” Peebles said.
However, in order to improve resources and services that are available for firefighters, Peebles said there has to be a galvanized local cancer research program to address and highlight those issues.
“The current cancer programs that are currently in place traditionally focus on your traditional population, and that leaves the fire profession, first responders, in a bad predicament because our occupational hazards are much more likely to result in a cancer diagnosis versus your general population,” Peebles said.
Humberto Pando-Ruacho ll, a seven-year firefighter with the EPFD, is battling cancer for the second time in his life and during his decade-plus career as a firefighter.
“I was first diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2010 when I was volunteering at the fire department in Dona Ana County. Over there, I didn’t have resources or anything. Everything came out of my own pocket,” Pardo-Raucho said.
Pardo-Raucho said he spent the next 6 years with that department as a firefighter and district chief, while battling cancer, but has been in remission the past 10 years.
He then joined the EPFD in 2017, where he has served as a firefighter. Pardo-Raucho ll said that during his time at the department he had seen several of his fellow firemen be diagnosed with cancer, but he never imagined that it would happen to him again.
“In May of 2024, I suffered a seizure. I went to the hospitals here, (but they) weren’t equipped to give me proper (care) and information. So I got flown out to the Mayo Clinic, and over there they were able to remove the tumor that caused the seizure,” Pardo-Raucho ll said.
Pardo-Raucho is currently battling Grade 4 glioma, a form of brain cancer.
Since suffering the seizure last year, Pardo-Raucho said he has been in and out of the hospital undergoing several surgeries, rounds of chemotherapy and radiation.
Nicole Walls, a five-year firefighter with the Las Cruces Fire Department (LCFD), just recently began her battle with breast cancer after being diagnosed during a screening offered by the Fire Department in November 2024.
“I had noticed a lump about two months prior to that, and I was trying to get in with my primary care doctor but there was a wait to get an appointment,” Walls said.
Walls said she instead requested to get a screening at the Fire Department, believing it was pressing that she get checked out promptly.
“I did advocate for myself because when I first had requested for a mammogram, I got told that I was too young, but I kind of knew something was wrong. And in the back of my head, I was like, ‘Well, maybe I should just let it go and just let it be and wait,’” she said.
Walls said she probably would have not found out she had cancer had she not pressed to get the screening. During that two-month span, she said the cancer had spread from her right breast to her lymphatic system.
“I was grateful that I took that moment and didn’t let somebody tell me, ‘No, we can’t give you this test.’ You have to really fight for that care, to make sure you get it,” Walls said.
The past two months have been an uphill battle for Walls. She said she just finished her first round of chemotherapy in January which has taken an enormous toll on her.
“I felt like I kept getting knocked down on my butt, like I would stand up and I would hope to get good news, (but) I would get knocked down. I would stand up again and bad news. Another MRI result would come back and more bad news. So I could never really catch a win, and I kept waiting for it. I was like, ‘It’s going to happen.’ I’m going to get some piece of good news, but I’m still waiting for it and hoping that I can get there. That’s the plan,”Walls said.
Walls is still in the early stages of her battle with cancer, but she said that it has been amazing to see how her family, friends, and colleagues at the LCFD galvanized to support her and take their health more seriously.
“I would encourage the brothers and sisters in the fire service to be there for each other, care about each other. Make sure we’re all OK and don’t be too prideful to go get yourself checked up, because that was kind of my mentality. I was like, ‘I’m 30, there’s no way,’” Walls said.
Family and friends of Walls are selling pink breast cancer awareness shirts to help alleviate the financial burden of her treatment.
To order a shirt you can email buildingwallsagainstcancer@gmail.com.
Walls said she also welcomes any uplifting messages.
They have also set up a GoFundMe page where you can help by donating. Walls said they have already had to spend much of the donations during her first round of chemotherapy.
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