STAND TOGETHER

JOIN THE NATIONAL 

FIREFIGHTER REGISTRY

Answer the call. Join your brothers and sisters 

in a new effort to understand and reduce cancer.

What is NIOSH?

The National Institute for Occupational Safety 

and Health (NIOSH) is the part of the Centers 

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 

responsible for conducting research and making 

recommendations to reduce workplace illness 

and injury. NIOSH has a long history of working 

with the fire service and is committed to firefighter 

health and safety through investigating line of duty 

deaths, job hazards, cancer and other illnesses. 

What is the National Firefighter 

Registry (NFR)?

The NFR is the largest existing effort undertaken 

to understand and reduce cancer among U.S. 

firefighters. In 2018, Congress passed the Firefighter 

Cancer Registry Act. This Act directed NIOSH to 

develop a voluntary registry of firefighters to better 

understand the link between firefighting and cancer. 

Why was the NFR created?

Studies have shown that firefighters may have a 

greater risk for some types of cancer due to their 

exposure to smoke and hazardous chemicals on 

the fireground.1, 2, 3 Many of these studies did not 

include volunteer firefighters or enough women or 

firefighters from some racial and ethnic groups to 

make strong conclusions about their cancer risk. The 

NFR will include members of these groups to better 

understand the connection between firefighting 

activities and cancer among all U.S. firefighters.

WHO CAN REGISTER FOR THE NFR?

All U.S. firefighters, with or without 

cancer, no matter their length 

of service. This includes:

• Active and retired firefighters

• Career, paid-on-call, and 

volunteer firefighters

• Structural firefighters

• Wildland firefighters

• Instructors

• Fire investigators

• Other fire service members

Having all types of firefighters join 

the NFR is vital to examining the 

relationship between firefighting and 

cancer. Participation is voluntary. 

How do I join?

Registration will take place through a secure website 

and will take about 30 minutes. When joining, you 

will provide information about yourself – name, 

date of birth, and some basic information about 

your work exposures, health, and lifestyle. 
NATIONAL FIREFIGHTER REGISTRY

Why should I join?

The more we know about cancer, the more we can 

do to prevent it. By joining the NFR, you can: 

• Help protect the next generation

of firefighters from cancer

• Pave the way for new safety measures to protect

your brothers and sisters in the fire service

• Help protect firefighter families and their

communities from experiencing the

impact of cancer on their loved ones

• Improve our understanding of cancer

risk among female firefighters, volunteer

firefighters, and firefighters who are Black

or African American, Hispanic or Latino,

Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native,

or from other racial and ethnic groups that

have been underrepresented in research

How does the NFR work?

Every time someone is diagnosed with cancer, details 

about their cancer are reported to the cancer registry 

in their state, but detailed information about their 

work is not captured. By providing information about 

themselves and their work, NFR participants will 

allow researchers to match NFR information with 

cancer diagnosis information to better understand 

cancer and its risk factors in the fire service. 

Do NFR participants need to contact 

NIOSH if they are diagnosed with cancer?

No. NIOSH will be able to track information related 

to cancer by linking information on individual 

firefighters enrolled in the NFR with state cancer 

registries. Firefighters should consult with their 

doctor if they have any concerns about their health.

What if I don’t have cancer, can I still join?

Yes. All firefighters, with or without cancer, are 

encouraged to join the NFR, and their participation is 

critical for understanding firefighters’ risk of cancer.

What information do I need to provide 

and how will it be protected?

When you sign up for the NFR, you will be asked 

for your name and other identifying information 

(e.g., date of birth), as well as details about your 

work as a firefighter. Privacy and data security 

are top priorities for the NFR. Firefighters join 

the NFR through a secure website using multifactor authentication. Firefighter data are stored 

securely with multiple layers of encryption. Your 

identifiable information will be kept confidential 

and only accessible to NIOSH researchers.

What happens after I join?

Because the NFR is a long-term project, NIOSH 

researchers may reach out to you about once 

a year with voluntary, but important follow-up 

questionnaires. Your continued participation 

is key to protecting firefighter health.

When can I join?

The NFR will open to all U.S. firefighters later in 2022.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE 

NFR QUARTERLY 

NEWSLETTER FOR THE 

LATEST NFR UPDATES. 

LEARN MORE AT WWW.CDC.GOV/NFR Sources:

1. Daniels et al. (2014). Doi: 10.1136/oemed-2013-101662

2. Daniels et al. (2015). Doi: 10.1136/oemed-2014-102671

3. Demers et al. (2022). Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(22)00390-4

November 2022. NIOSH Publication Number: 2022-148 (revised 11/2022)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHPUB2022148revised112022