Melbourne firefighter Mick Tisbury has always known his work is dirty and dangerous. Running into a thousand-degree inferno presents some obvious risks. "If you've got half a brain, you'd be running out," he says.
It's not just the flames and the heat. Firefighters are exposed to thousands of carcinogens on the job. In July, the World Health Organization classified firefighting as a cancer-causing occupation.
By and large this just comes with the territory, Mick tells Australian Story. "If a chemical storage facility goes up in flames, we have to do whatever is needed to put it out."
