CHICAGO FIRE Boss on Highlighting Firefighter Cancer Support Network

On the Wednesday, January 15 episode of CHICAGO FIRE, Boden (Eamonn Walker) was devastated to learn a former student, Mike Buckley, whom he taught at the academy, was dying from cancer—and Buckley shared that one in three firefighters are diagnosed with the disease.

“Cancer is an epidemic in the fire service,” Buckley told a group of firehouse leaders. “And our everyday risks continue to grow. From the carcinogens we breathe in and absorb at fire scenes to the diesel exhaust fumes from our very own rigs, we need to limit our exposure.”

Though the storyline was scripted, the danger is very real: In 2016, cancer caused 70% of line-of-duty deaths for firefighters, according to Firefighter Cancer Support Network.

“This summer, Chief Bryan Frieders reached out to me on behalf of the Firefighter Cancer Support Network,” CHICAGO FIRE boss Derek Haas said via email. “As you can imagine, because of the nature of our show, we get a lot of charities and organizations who reach out to us to see if we can help raise awareness of specific causes. Something about Chief Frieders’s original email stuck out to me and I emailed him to learn more about the FCSN.”

“We met for lunch on the Universal Lot and he told me more about their mission,” he continued. “He’s a very effective communicator, and before the food arrived, I knew this would be a worthwhile subject to explore. Matt Whitney, the writer of 811, met with Bryan in the Fall as he worked out the story that eventually became ‘Where We End Up.’ I think Matt did a sensational job bringing this important story to our CHICAGO FIRE audience.”

For more information on Firefighter Cancer Support Network—including ways to help—be sure to visit their website.

CHICAGO FIRE, Wednesdays, 9/8c, NBC

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