In October, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation added names of firefighters who died of cancer to its memorial honoring line-of-duty deaths for the first time since the foundation’s creation in 1992, with 24 cancer deaths among the 112 deaths in 2015. In Prince George’s County, 29 retired and sworn firefighters have filed occupational cancer claims since 2012, including Lt. Chris Hill, who died last year of brain cancer. The nonprofit Firefighter Cancer Support Network said it has provided assistance and one-on-one mentoring to thousands of firefighters and their families since the organization was started in 2005. In the District, Williams, who grew up in Northeast Washington, became a voice for firefighters with cancer. Less than 16 years into the only job he ever cared about, Williams, then 40, discovered he had cancer.

Source: Washington Post February 24, 2017 20:32 UTC