Firefighters are almost four times as likely as members of the wider population to die from prostate cancer, 3.2 times as likely to die from leukaemia and 2.4 times as likely to be killed by cancer of the oesophagus.

Regular screening and investment in equipment are among the measures needed to address the far higher than usual cancer death rates among firefighters, according to their representatives at the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) biennial conference in Kilkenny.

A motion from the Northern Ireland Fire Brigades Union (FBU) to be debated on Thursday highlights the scale of the issue.

The data is the product of a peer-reviewed study carried out by Dr Anna Stec at the University of Central Lancashire. The fatality rate is so high, says FBU delegate Phil Millar, because “firefighters are getting these cancers 20 years before other people would normally and so doctors aren’t expecting to see them and they are being missed”.

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Mr Millar said, “anyone who embarks on a career as a firefighter is significantly more at risk of developing cancer”.

FBU president Ian Murray said the union had commissioned the research because of data coming out of the United States and “because we were aware we had clusters in particular stations but the just wasn’t the research there”.

He described the initial results, based on a study on the causes of death of firefighters, as “startling” and said regular blood testing was now being undertaken as part of its next phase.

Jim Quinn from Lisburn station said his station was being monitored by the researchers for the particular effects of wildfires. “We get a lot of wildfires and they’re looking to see if they might be linked to particular types of cancer because of the pesticides, insecticides and other toxic chemicals,” he said.

Cancers of the digestive system, it has been suggested, are so much more common because of chemicals from fires being swallowed in mucus while high rates of leukaemia, it is believed, could be the result of inhalation of chemicals or the absorption of them through skin.

The FBU is calling for regular health screening for cancer and other serious health issues, and investment in equipment, including additional kit so contaminated clothing can be discarded immediately after attending to a fire. They also want routine monitoring of firefighters’ cause of death, active or retired.

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Siptu, which represents firefighters south of the Border, is to launch a campaign on the issue with broadly the same list of demands in the coming months, according to Cathal Murray, a Cork-based firefighter and representative.

“There are some measures in place but a lot more needs to be done,” he says. “I keep in touch with a lot of retired firefighters and you can see how common the various cancers are. I know lots who have prostate cancer and a few who have had throat cancer, but the research has shown the scale of the problem.

“We need screening for cancers so that they are caught early, preventative measures to deal with situations where smoke and gasses are encountered and basic measure like extra sets of gear because at the moment you can have three or four firefighters travelling back to a station together after a fire and actually contaminating each other.”

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