Firefighters are at greater risk of cancer. Minneapolis hopes saunas in stations might help.

The Minneapolis Fire Department has added saunas into its stations as a tool to protect its firefighters’ health and well-being, and maybe reduce the chance that they develop cancer.

Fire Chief Bryan Tyner, who was recently diagnosed with cancer and has served in the department for 31 years, hopes the saunas can help his department’s firefighters avoid the elevated cancer risk that comes with the profession.

“That is what it’s about — trying to reduce that cause of cancer so that our firefighters can have healthy careers, but also healthy retirements,“ Tyner said.

Steve Shapira, a former St. Paul firefighter and cancer survivor who founded the Minneapolis Fire Foundation nonprofit, helped raise the money to purchase the saunas. So far they have been placed in five of the department’s 14 fire stations. Each sauna cost $6,500, a discounted rate from the seller, and the department intends to have saunas in all of the city’s stations. The foundation is still raising money to get saunas for the others.

Saunas have been linked to cardiovascular benefits, and Shapira said they can also help with firefighters’ mental health after they return from a call.

But the unanswered question is whether saunas can help protect firefighters from developing cancer by preventing toxins being absorbed into their skin after responding to a smoke-filled building. Firefighters are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than the general U.S. population, according to a 2015 study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Dr. Zeke McKinney, a physician at HealthPartners Institute, studied St. Paul firefighters to look into that question. He collected sweat and urine samples from firefighters who used saunas and those who didn’t, to see whether there were more cancer-causing chemicals in the control samples.

“I don’t know if at the end of this I’ll be able to say it effectively treats it, but I will be able to answer the question of, ‘Is this stuff coming out in sweat?’ and ‘Does sauna have an impact on your ability to excrete this any faster than normal?’” McKinney said.

Even if the study doesn’t draw a link between saunas and detoxification, McKinney said the study has demonstrated the mental benefits of using saunas.

“One thing I’ve learned out of this is people love saunas, and to be honest, with firefighters having mental health risks, and how it makes them happy to get in a sauna, that might be a good enough reason to get them,” McKinney said.

Tyner said the saunas are being added at a time when there’s a nationwide emphasis on reducing cancer risks in the profession. The St. Paul Fire Department added saunas at its stations several years ago.

In recent years the department has ensured there are two sets of firefighting suits, also known as “turnout” gear, for each firefighter so they can have a clean set to change into after getting back from a scene, Tyner said.

The department has also emphasized the importance of showering within an hour after returning from a scene. Tyner said the saunas are still beneficial after a shower because the smell of smoke can be hard to remove.

Shapira, who retired from the St. Paul Fire Department a decade ago as a captain, was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, prior to his retirement. He said the installation of the saunas is twofold: benefiting firefighters directly while drawing attention to their higher cancer rates.