[quote=no_such_reality][quote=spdrun][quote=XBoxBoy]
At any rate, I’m not seeing the data to back up claims that being a firefighter is particularly dangerous. Just saying.
[/quote]
Depends how job-related deaths are tabulated. I recall reading that firefighters had 2-3x the lifetime cancer risk of people in other jobs. Exposure to smoke, dust, vapors from heated toxics can’t be good for you.[/quote]
Except CalPERS shows that Firefighters and safety professions out live the general public with a longer life expectancy.[/quote]
The problem with CalPERS’ numbers is that they include administrative staff (judges, clerks, all administrative personnel who work for fire/police departments, prisons, etc.) in their population of “safety” workers.
Even so, the numbers do NOT show that safety employees have longer lifespans, just that they are about equivalent — and that is only when they *include* the administrative positions.
The life expectancy of safety workers is also affected by the better health of these workers because they are screened for health problems when they are hired, and are not allowed (in many departments) to smoke on or off-duty, use illegal drugs, etc. Many/most of them have to pass a very thorough medical exam every year, too. If you consider only “non-safety” employees who had to be screened in the same way, you’d likely see a larger difference in life expectancy between safety and non-safety employees, and an even larger difference if you eliminated the admin staff from the “safety” group.
