Firefighter shares longevity tips, as first responders face 10-year shorter lifespan

Cardiovascular disease is the No.1 cause of death among firefighters, according to experts.(iStock)

Morlan said that “shift after shift,” firefighters are exposed to smoke, toxins, carcinogens and extreme heat, leading tosleep disruptionsand medical conditions.

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“I’ve stood at memorials for people who have never made it to retirement,” he said.“Even for some of our members and firefighters who do retire — a year or two after that, that’s when they pass away.That really stays with you.”

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Dr.Eve Henry, chief medical officer at Hundred Health in California, said the fact that firefighters tend to die 10 years sooner than the general American population should be a “wake-up call” for those in themedical community.

“That’s not a marginal difference — it’s a decade of life lost,�

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“When you combine repeated exposure to toxic chemicals and carcinogens with the extreme physical and physiological stress of the job, it creates a perfect storm for chronic disease to accelerate much faster than it would in a typical office environment,” Henry said.

Longevity tips for first responders

Acknowledging the risk is the first step to living longer, Morlan said.

“When we run into burning buildings, it’s really the invisible exposures over decades that threaten our lives,” he said.“Being strong doesn’t cancel out toxic exposures orsleep deprivation.”

The firefighter also recommends treating the body like “mission-critical equipment.”

“We inspect our rigs, and we inspect our equipment all the time.We’re always checking those boxes and making sure we’re ready to go,” he said.“And it shouldn’t be any different [with] our health.”

In addition to getting annual physicals, first responders may want to seek out biomarker testing and data tracking throughwearable devices, Morlan suggested.

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Making small improvements to nutrition, exercise and recovery are also critical, he said.

“Longevity isn’t just one big overhaul — it’s consistent, informed decisions over time.If wemaintain our bodieslike we maintain our apparatus and our equipment, then we’ll extend a lot of our careers out there.”

CAL FIRE firefighter Mike Morlan, left, is pictured with Stu Sprung, a retired aviation officer, right.(CAL FIRE)

Henry encourages first responders to treat their recovery with the same “clinical respect” they give their training.

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“Sleep is the single most important variable in that equation,” she said.“I know how difficult that is with a firehouse schedule, but when you are off-shift, you have to be disciplined about a strictsleep environmentto let your body repair the damage.”

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Henry also recommends taking ownership of one’s health, and to not wait until “something breaks to fix it.”

“You need to understand your own biomarkers so you can spot the early warning signs ofcardiovascular strainlong before it becomes a crisis,” she advised.

CAL FIRE firefighters respond to a house fire in California.(CAL FIRE)

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The physician recommends that first responders start by focusing on three small, attainable measures, such as hitting a protein goal, cutting out alcohol or starting astrength-training routine.

nutritional standardswhen a long shift interrupts the ability to eat a real meal, she said. 

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As the daughter of a New York firefighter, Henry said she’s witnessed firsthand the toll of the schedule, stress and physical load of the job.“Too often, the cumulative toll never shows up on a routine physical and isn’t apparent until it’s already a crisis,” she said.

mental and physical well-being.

“Firefighters live in a constant state of ‘fight or flight,’ jumping from sedentary moments into maximum physical exertion in seconds,” a doctor said.“This, paired with extreme heat, stress and chronic sleep deprivation, wreaks havoc on the body’s inflammatory markers.”(iStock)

The program uses biomarkers andwearable datato spot early health changes firefighters may not detect on their own.Organizers say it could also build the first large-scale dataset that tracks how job-related exposures — including carcinogens, heat stress and sleep disruption — affect firefighters over time.

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“We’re talking about tracking biomarkers against known occupational exposures … across thousands of firefighters, over years,” Henry said. 

“That data could rewrite what we know about how this career affects the human body.”