SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – It takes a certain calling to be a first responder.
“We're all drawn to this sort of work because we want to serve our communities,” Kyle Smith, Health & Safety Officer, San Diego Fire Rescue Department, said.
An unassuming office building in the Murphy Canyon area is where those who serve get a service of their own.
“It's one of one in the country. We don't know of any other departments that have a facility quite like this that it encompasses everything,” Smith said.
Smith told ABC 10News the Health and Wellness Center for the department opened in January which was funded by two FEMA grants and donations.
The 13,000 square foot facility provides all the resources Smith said to tackle issues that firefighters within the department may encounter related to physical well-being, mental health and cancer prevention.
“We know already that cancer is a big problem that the fire service is facing. 75% of our line of duty deaths are due to cancer,” David Hunt, the Cancer & Health Coordinator at the Wellness Center, said. “There's quite a long list of cancers that we're 50% more likely to get, including esophageal cancer, rectal cancer, and some others. So, this is due to our occupational exposure.”
Smith said the facility is beneficial for the department.
“Some of the things that we're seeing now more, more frequently are lithium-ion battery fires and the toxicity surrounding those is huge,” Smith said. “We're on the front lines and trying to develop best practices and protocols for post-exposure.”
Hunt said this facility is crucial when it comes to mitigating the risks and tackling them when San Diego firefighters are fighting a different kind of battle.
“We're able to host our annual skin cancer screening out of here, um, and there's some new kind of technologies and screenings that we're being approached with because of these positions in health and safety in this facility,” Hunt said.
It’s a place to help their fellow men and women in the San Diego Fire Rescue Department so they can continue to be healthy to protect the community.
“Coming to work in one piece and then going home in one piece is really important to us," Smith said. "And so, being able to have some sort of impact in that is a feeling that I haven't had before coming into this position back in March and something I'm really proud of."
