Firefighters face increased cancer risks due to repeated exposure to smoke, chemicals and other toxins on the fireground. To address this, the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) created the National Firefighter Registry (NFR) for Cancer, the largest effort to date to track firefighter exposures, cancer diagnoses and related data to better understand and reduce risk. All U.S. firefighters — career, volunteer, wildland, structural and more — are eligible to join, contributing to a stronger understanding of cancer risk across the fire service.
The following FAQs explain how the registry works, why it matters and, most importantly, how to join the Registry today.
What is the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer?
The National Firefighter Registry is a registry of firefighter data designed to track exposures, diagnosis rates and more, ultimately to better understand the link between workplace exposures and cancer among firefighters. The NFR is the largest existing effort undertaken to understand and reduce cancer among firefighters in the United States.
The program is run by the NIOSH, part of the CDC, which is responsible for conducting research and making recommendations to reduce workplace illness and injury.
How was the Registry created?
In 2018, Congress passed the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act, which directed NIOSH to develop the registry to better understand the link between firefighting and cancer. President Donald Trump signed the Act into law.
How does the NFR differ from state cancer databases?
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 allow researchers to match NFR information with cancer diagnosis information to better understand cancer and its risk factors in the fire service.
Who can sign up for the National Firefighter Registry?
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 and wildland firefighters
- Instructors
- Fire investigators
- Other fire service members
Why should I join the NFR?
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 groups that have traditionally been underrepresented in research
How long does it take to sign up?
Setting up an account takes only a few minutes. Completing the full registration takes about 30 minutes. When joining through the secure website, you will provide information about yourself — name, date of birth, and some basic information about your work exposures, health and lifestyle.
How do I sign up for the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer?
Signing up for the NFR takes four steps:
- Create an NFR account at nfr.cdc.gov (5 minutes): This step allows you to confirm eligibility, select your preferred language, choose your preferred email and password, and grants access to the NFR portal.
- Give informed consent (5 minutes): The NFR is a voluntary project. You must provide informed consent to participate.
- Create your profile (5 minutes): Add personal information to link your NFR account to existing state databases that would track past or future cancer diagnosis. Here you will choose your communication preferences for NFR updates and add your fire department information.
- Complete the NFR questionnaire (30 minutes): Add demographic information as well as fire service history, including responses to major events, and health history and lifestyle information.
Once you’ve submitted your information, you can update it at any time by logging back into your profile.
For even more details steps, check out the “How Do I Sign Up?” guide on the NIOSH website.
How will my information be protected?
Firefighters join the NFR through a secure website using multifactor authentication. Firefighter data is stored securely with multiple layers of encryption. Your identifiable information will be kept confidential and only accessible to NIOSH researchers.
Learn more about how your fire department can support the NFR.
