Too many crews mourning another loss. Too many families burying a loved one. Too many firefighters stripped of the opportunity to walk their children down the aisle, bounce grandchildren on their knee, or kick back, fishing pole in hand, during a well-earned retirement.
Anyone who’s spent enough time within firefighting knows this: Cancer has taken too much from us and our families.
That’s why we formed the Utah Firefighter Cancer Initiative in 2023. A partnership among the Utah Fire and Rescue Academy, the Professional Firefighters of Utah, the Utah State Fire Chiefs Association, and the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, we have one mission: saving the lives of as many firefighters in Utah as possible.
We fulfill that mission through the nation’s most comprehensive cancer screening program— at no cost to firefighters themselves — as well as through conducting research, providing education, and advocating for firefighters.
The seeds of our initiative date back decades. But with momentum stemming from the formation of our partnership, we achieved a transformative milestone in 2025: the passage of a state law (H.B. 65) that expands the list of cancers considered “presumptive” in firefighters in Utah to 15 and provides our initiative with funding to perform cancer screenings for approximately 500 firefighters each year.
We are grateful for the support. And we call on firefighters throughout the state to join our cause — most importantly by getting screened when their turn arises.
Policies & Procedures
We invite you to review our policies and procedures manual, detailing information such as the roles and responsibilities of the partner organizations that comprise UFCI, the ethical principles guiding our initiative, and policies governing our screening program.
Firefighters, our message is simple:
You strengthen our communities.
You sacrifice for your neighbors.
You serve with honor.