GREENSBORO, N.C. — The job of a firefighter is dangerous but the dangers don't end when they leave the fire stations.
Cancer is a leading cause of death because of job hazards.
"It's almost an everyday conversation," said Greensboro Fire Department Captain Vinnie Messina.
This month for Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month, fire departments and families are working to honor those who lost their lives to the disease.
In the last few years, the Greensboro Fire Department has lost firefighters to cancer.
In January 2021, Ramziddin El-Amin died from Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer that develops in the lymph nodes.
"He was the energizer bunny rabbit. He was constantly going going going always looked up to him for that," said El-Amin's younger sister Raushanah El-Amin-Foster.
His mother and sister said he was a firefighter for 20 years and worked at Fire station 19 in Greensboro.
"He was a workaholic," said mother, Canary El-Amin.
They say his cancer grew fast after he was diagnosed in September 2020.
"He was never really the same again," said Canary El-Amin.
At the time, They said doctors did not know if the cancer was related to fighting fires.
Since his death his cancer was ruled as a result of his job. His death is now considered an official line of duty death.
"He was working with the hazardous chemicals at one time so they were saying it might be from there," said Canary El-Amin.
Captain Messina said almost every day firefighters are exposed to chemicals and smoky environments that can cause cancer.
"We can absorb that obviously through breathing it in, through dermal absorption, through your skin there's a number of ways," said Messina.
That's why they support and take care of one another to help prevent it.
"By cleaning our gear, cleaning ourselves, cleaning our trucks and limiting how much we are exposing one another," said Messina.