News and Updates
UCLA researchers team up with L.A. County Fire Department to investigate possible source of cancer risk
Posted: April 7, 2025
It was the station’s captain, Jeffrey Kimura of LACoFD, who directed researchers’ attention to another possible source: turnout gear, the personal protective equipment that keeps them safe on the job. The heavy-duty jackets and pants must be washed in specialty machines that are typically off-site, so they are worn multiple times before laundering. The dirt and debris from firefights accumulate on the clothing. The gear is stored in the station between calls, adjacent to living quarters, and may be a significant source of toxicity. In cooperation with LACoFD, a multidisciplinary team at UCLA, led by Dr. Brigitte Gomperts and Kimura, will isolate the contaminants on the clothing and assess their effects on human cells. The study will help determine if PPE contributes to firefighters’ cancer risk.
Firefighters have a higher risk of cancer – but why?
Posted: April 2, 2025
By: Mary-Rose Abraham, UCLA Health
Cristina Davis Among Researchers Leading New Firefighter Cancer Prevention Projects
Posted: November 20, 2024
The University of California has awarded nearly $6 million in state funding to advance research aimed at reducing cancer and cancer risk among firefighters. Grants were awarded to eight research teams, including one co-led by University of California, Davis, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Cristina Davis. Davis will work with co-principal investigator Ryan Tripp, a fire captain with the Los Angeles County Fire Department on a project titled "Individualized exposure assessment of firefighters to airborne carcinogens."
Building on an existing collaboration to develop air sampling tools firefighters use on calls, their team will now deploy these tools during training exercises on practice fires — which can add to firefighters' chemical exposure — and collect samples of firefighters' exhaled breath, urine and a swab of their skin. This will enable the researchers to pinpoint which trainings caused chemical exposure and change these activities to reduce the risk. Then they will educate other firefighters across California on how to make training safer.
By: Julia Busiek, UC Newsroom, and College of Engineering Communications
New funding aims to slash cancer rate among firefighters
Posted: November 20, 2024
This funding, spread across eight research teams, is part of the California Firefighter Cancer Prevention and Research Program, which was launched in 2023.
Cancer is the leading cause of death among firefighters, and studies have found that firefighters are at higher risk of certain types of cancers than the overall population due to their exposure to smoke and other harmful chemicals, even with protective gear.
Read more at KTLA 5.
By: Marc Sternfield, KTLA 5
UC awards $6 million to research aimed at reducing cancer among firefighters
Posted: November 19, 2024
The University of California has awarded nearly $6 million in state funding to advance research aimed at reducing cancer and cancer risk among firefighters. Grants were awarded to eight research teams through the California Firefighter Cancer Prevention and Research Program, established in 2023 by the State legislature.
The program is administered by the University of California, which works closely with the State interagency firefighting advisory program, FIRESCOPE, to ensure funded projects address the highest priority research. California firefighters and fire service organizations will participate in the research, taking an active role in helping scientists unravel why cancer rates are so high among their ranks — and helping to design possible solutions.
By: Julia Busiek, UC Newsroom
University of California Cancer Research Awards
Posted: November 2024
Leading four of the eight cancer research teams as co-principal investigators include Fire Captains Jamie Gabriel, Jeffrey Kimura, and Ryan Tripp, along with Fire Fighter Paramedic (FFPM) Thomas Sullivan. Additionally, Fire Fighter Specialist (FFS) Derek Urwin, is co-leading a two-year study into the causes of cancer among California’s wildland firefighters funded by the California Action Grants program. FFS Urwin has teamed up with cancer research colleagues to implement an initiative that outfits firefighters with devices that measure levels of carcinogens and to learn and understand more specifics about what is inhaled by firefighters while working. In addition to serving as a FFS, Urwin holds a P.h.D and serves as a chemistry professor at UCLA.
Read more at County of Los Angeles Fire Department.