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When you think of the dangers that firefighter face, cancer may not be top of mind. But Florida's Fire Marshal and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis says these heroes have a 9 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer...
"...and a 14 percent higher risk of being killed by cancer than Average Americans."
In fact, Patronis says that more than half of line-of-duty firefighter deaths are attributed to cancer.
He was in West Palm Beach on Tuesday, giving cancer decontamination equipment funding to that city's fire department, Marathon Fire Rescue and the Coral Springs-Parkland Fire District.
Over $50,000 in all was handed out at the West Palm Beach Emergency Operations Center.
The money is from a Grant Program approved by the Legislature to help protect firefighters from hazardous, cancer-causing chemicals.
"I'm proud to say that when the state of Florida, when we passed this particular cancer benefit...it was something that we passed statewide but our own Palm Beach County did it actually before the state of Florida did, so it's a real thank you to the leadership here in Palm Beach County."
Joining Patronis were several state lawmakers from the area, as well as Palm Beach County Commissioners Sara Baxter and Maria Marino.