Michael Weston gave 23 years of his life in service to his community as a firefighter.

As evidenced by the car figurines, helmets and miniature statues of firefighters in his Depew home, his devotion to his work is apparent.

He doesn’t regret a moment of the years he’s spent fighting fires, but his career has him fighting a new battle now.

“I have contracted cancer,” Weston said. “We now know that I contracted it via service in the fire department.”

Retired First Lieutenant Weston has battled kidney and bladder cancer and is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

Dr. Mary Reid, director of cancer screening and survivorship at Roswell Park Comprehensive Care Center, said firefighters are increasingly exposed to the risk of cancer due to their volatile work environment.

“There’s always been a lot of lead paint, other kind of industrial products when they burned,” she said. “We had some idea of what the volatile compounds were. I think what we realize now is that even households can contain a lot of plastics, fire retardants, so the context of what is in domestic fires has changed over the years.”

Four of the six people Weston worked closely with during the course of his career also have been diagnosed with cancer. His company consisted of 40 men, with some women joining their ranks over the years.

Now Weston is speaking up for himself and other firefighters, to ensure they take steps to protect their health as they run into burning buildings.

In the second part of this three-part series "No Escape: Battling More Than Just Fires," we explore how fire departments across Western New York are adjusting their routine to minimize exposure to health hazards.