Firefighters in Lakewood and Rocky River will be the beneficiaries of support raised at the Rotary Club of Lakewood-Rocky River’s Swim-a-Thon on March 1 at the Rocky River Recreation Center indoor pools from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m.

Nearly $15,000 in funding is needed to purchase an infrared cycle sauna decontamination unit for the Rocky River Fire Department and a commercial grade Stairmaster for the Lakewood Fire Department.

The initiative’s goal is to help firefighters and first responders remove toxins from their bodies after fighting fires. After completing a five-year study of nearly 30,000 firefighters, researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) concluded that firefighters in the study had a greater number of cancer diagnoses and cancer-related deaths.