LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) -- For firefighters, the line of duty dangers doesn’t end when the flames are out.
“It’s an unfortunate risk of our jobs, just as the black lung is an unfortunate risk of being a coal miner. You know, this is ours,” Sgt. Joshua Johnson with the Jeffersontown Fire Department said.
Cancer is the number one killer of firefighters, current first responders must deal with the loss of their brothers and sisters and, grapple with the threat they also face.
It was never a question if Johnson would become a firefighter.
“Oh, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to be. … little boys, you know, they want to be firemen and I never grew out of that phase. And, that’s how most firemen are,” Johnson said.
It may be a common dream for young kids, but Johnson had another factor at play.
He had a role model: His dad, Chief Joseph Johnson.
“We grew up at a firehouse. You know, me and my little sister. It was, you know, it was our home in a sense,” Joshua Johnson said.
He said he wouldn’t have had his childhood any other way.
“The firemen might not have been blood, but they were still our family,” Joshua Johnson said.
Johnson began volunteering at fire stations right after graduation, and he was hired full time in 2011. He was just in time to carry the torch, as his dad retired in 2012.
But in retirement, the Johnson family had to carry the sacrifice of service.
“Cancer is just, it’s a nightmare. It’s crazy,” Joshua Johnson said.
Chief Joseph was diagnosed with soft tissue cancer in March of 2016. It spread quickly throughout his entire body.
Just six months after diagnosis, he lost his battle and became another face among so many that were exposed to dangers they couldn’t see hidden in the flames.
Johnson said everyone used to think a line of duty death for a firefighter was getting hurt while fighting a fire but today a line of duty death includes more than just that.
Johnson said despite seeing his dad’s painful death, he’s never once doubted his choice to become a firefighter.
But, he and his fellow first responders are developing a new outlook on the danger after seeing so many suffer.
Protective face masks and clean gear were once seen as being overly cautious now, they’re expected.
“You know, for the longest time, if you had dirty gear you were the man. We don’t do that anymore. You’re the man if you’ve got clean gear,” Joshua Johnson said.
But looking forward, he feels, they are heading in the right direction to protecting those who fight fires.
“I know we have plenty of room to improve but I think we’re on the right track as a--the fire service as a whole--not just this station, everywhere. I think everywhere is doing better,” Joshua Johnson
For young people just beginning their firefighting careers, Joshua Johnson has this advice:
“Do absolutely everything you can to make it safe for you, and you know, think about your family at the end of the day,” Joshua Johnson said. “Your family, you know, they don’t want to lose you at a young age.”
In addition to the extra caution among firefighters, Johnson also said he hopes research into cancer and carcinogens continues. He thinks we’re just beginning to understand the number of ways firefighters are at risk.
►Contact reporter Rob Harris at rjharris@whas11.com. Follow him on Twitter (@robharristv) and Facebook.