COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — A new digital toolkit aims to help volunteer firefighters reduce their cancer risk by putting best practices into action.
The Cancer Awareness, Prevention, and Education (CAPE) for Volunteer Firefighters toolkit was developed as part of the FEMA-funded Firefighter Cancer Assessment and Prevention Study (CAPS). The free resource provides support materials for the 11 cancer prevention practices outlined in the 2018 Lavender Ribbon Report: Best Practices for Preventing Firefighter Cancer. The report is a product of the National Volunteer Fire Council and the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Volunteer and Combination Officers Section.
CAPE includes instructional videos tailored to volunteers, downloadable PowerPoint training presentations, template SOP/SOGs, printable posters for stations, and links to additional resources. The toolkit also features CAPS newsletters, a space for departments to contribute resources, and a feedback portal.
Researchers designed CAPE to make cancer prevention strategies more accessible and practical for volunteer departments that often have limited resources.
The CAPE toolkit is supported by Tennessee Tech, Rutgers Health School of Public Health, and the National Development and Research Institute (NDRI-USA).
