Table 2.
Firefighting experience and exposure history of female firefighter survey respondents, by presence and absence of cancer.
| Domain of inquiry | All respondents1 (n = 1,344) | Respondents without cancer (n = 1,067) | Respondents with cancer (n = 256) | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD)/Median (Q1, Q3) | Mean (SD)/Median (Q1, Q3) | Mean (SD)/Median (Q1, Q3) | p-value | |
| Years since starting in service | 14.5 (9.5) | 13.4 (9.2) | 19.1 (9.4) | <0.001 a |
| Years since leaving service | 5.3 (5.3) | 4.4 (4.9) | 6.0 (5.3) | 0.196a |
| Estimated # career fires | 40 (15, 150) | 40 (15, 100) | 100 (25, 250) | <0.001 b |
| Estimated # toxic exposures | 5 (1, 25) | 5 (1, 20) | 10 (3, 50) | <0.001 b |
| Count (%) | Count (%) | Count (%) | ||
| Career status | <0.001 c | |||
| Active | 1,270 (94.5) | 1,027 (96.3) | 224 (87.5) | |
| Inactive2 | 74 (5.5) | 40 (3.7) | 32 (12.5) | |
| Retired | 47 (3.5) | 24 (2.2) | 23 (9.0) | |
| Health-related exit | 25 (1.9) | 13 (1.2) | 10 (3.9) | |
| Career change | 9 (0.7) | 6 (0.6) | * | |
| Department/Type | 0.028 c | |||
| Career | 956 (71.1) | 741 (69.4) | 200 (78.1) | |
| Career & volunteer | 242 (18.0) | 197 (18.5) | 39 (15.2) | |
| Volunteer | 104 (7.7) | 91 (8.5) | 13 (5.1) | |
| Other3 | 42 (3.1) | 38 (3.6) | * | |
| Most recent rank2 | <0.001 c | |||
| Firefighter | 850 (63.2) | 709 (66.4) | 129 (50.4) | |
| Paramedic/EMT4 | 486 (36.2) | 390 (36.6) | 89 (34.8) | |
| Company/Station officer | 279 (20.8) | 205 (19.2) | 70 (27.3) | |
| Driver/Engineer | 211 (15.7) | 153 (14.3) | 52 (20.3) | |
| Chief officer/Superintendent | 97 (7.2) | 75 (7.0) | 22 (8.6) | |
| Master technician | 13 (1.0) | 10 (0.9) | * | |
| Other5 | 126 (9.4) | 94 (8.8) | 31 (12.1) | |
| Most recent assignment | 0.473c | |||
| Engine | 700 (52.1) | 566 (53.0) | 122 (47.7) | |
| Truck (Ladder/Aerial) | 112 (8.3) | 91 (8.5) | 19 (7.4) | |
| EMS Unit (Ambulance) | 105 (7.8) | 79 (7.4) | 23 (9.0) | |
| Special Operations / Rescue | 56 (4.2) | 49 (4.6) | 7 (2.7) | |
| HazMat Unit | 20 (1.5) | 14 (1.3) | 5 (2.0) | |
| Other6 | 346 (25.7) | 266 (24.9) | 80 (31.3) |
= fewer than 5.Bold p-values indicate statistical significance.
Responses from respondents with or without a history of cancer and/or precancer may not add up to those of all respondents, as some respondents did not answer every question.
Questions in which participants could select more than one option.
“Other” reported departments included Wildland/Forest Service, Structural, Industrial, and Military.
EMT, Emergency Medical Technician.
“Other” ranks reported included [new] Recruit, Dispatcher, Shift Coordinator, Training Centre Coordinator, Training Officer, Qualified Communication Officer, Fire/Arson/Prevention/K-9 Investigator (working with trained dog), EMT/Fire Service Instructor, Medical/First Responder, Helicopter Rescue Firefighter Paramedic, Aquatic Rescue, Hazardous Materials Technician, Lieutenant, Deputy/Fire Marshall, and Battalion Chief.
“Other” recent assignments included Training, Public Information Officer, Law Enforcement Investigator, Fire Marshall/Code Enforcement, Fire Chief, Battalion Chief, Homeland Security, and Airport Fire Station/Aircraft Rescue Firefighting.
T-test.
Wilcoxon rank-sum test.
Chi-square test.