About
We exist to stop preventable line-of-duty deaths.
Interceptor Health was founded by clinicians and former first responders who watched too many firefighters die from conditions a blood test could have caught a decade earlier. We are here to change that.
The Reality of the Job
More than fires. Every emergency, every day.
Firefighters are first responders who protect the public from danger both visible and unseen. Beyond controlling structural fires, wildfires, and vehicle fires with specialized hoses, pumps, and retardants, crews absorb burn injuries, smoke inhalation, musculoskeletal sprains and strains — especially to the lower back and knees — lacerations, heat stress, and severe dehydration as routine costs of the job.
Their full responsibilities go far beyond flames: natural disaster response, search and rescue, emergency medical care, and hazardous material response. Most career firefighters now hold EMT or Paramedic licenses, because medical calls account for 64% to 90% of a department's total daily call volume — medical training is standard, not optional, in the modern fire service.
50–150
Firefighters who make the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty every year
343
FDNY members lost on September 11th, 2001, in service to the victims of the WTC attacks
64–90%
Of daily call volume that is now emergency medical, not fire suppression
Occupational Risk
The hazards behind the uniform.
Firefighters face significantly elevated health risks in a number of areas due the occupational hazards associated with their profession. Firefighters see dramatically higher incidences in both cancer and cardiovascular disease when compared to national averages. The matrix of underlying vocational risks can be categorized into three main areas: cardiovascular and physical stress, occupationally related cancer, and mental health challenges. These hazards are heavily exacerbated by extreme environmental conditions which are difficult to avoid.
Beyond the obvious physical risks of fighting fires and saving lives, the following is a detailed outline of those underlying factors which contribute to the extraordinarily pronounced health risks these amazing professionals face for the privilege of protecting the rest of us.
Cardiovascular & Physical Stress
Extreme heat, adrenaline surges, and heavy exertion in full gear place sudden, repeated strain on the heart — the leading cause of on-duty firefighter fatalities.
Occupationally Related Cancer
Smoke, soot, and combustion byproducts absorbed through skin and lungs over a career drive cancer rates well above the national average.
Mental Health Challenges
Repeated exposure to trauma, loss, and shift-work sleep disruption compounds cumulative psychological and physiological stress over a career.
Cardiovascular & Physical Stress
Sudden Burst of Physical Demand
Situational Sympathetic Nervous Response
A situational sympathetic nervous response, or "fight-or-flight" response, is an automatic reaction to perceived stress or danger. Your body surges with adrenaline, temporarily altering your physical and mental state to prepare you to confront or flee from the threat.
Environmental Exposure & Oxidation
Environmental agents that cause oxidation (often referred to as oxidizing agents or pro-oxidants) are substances or energy sources that strip electrons from other molecules. In human biology and chemistry, these agents trigger the production of harmful free radicals, accelerating everything from cellular aging to the breakdown of material.
Strenuous Activity & Extreme Heat
The combination of heavy gear, dehydration, extreme heat, and sudden bursts of adrenaline causes acute strain on the heart, leading to sudden cardiac events.
Pre-existing Factors
Unpredictable meal times, high stress, and physically demanding, irregular shifts contribute to high rates of hypertension and high cholesterol within the fire service. Individual genetic factors may also play a significant role.
On the Line
The work we're built to protect.
Every screening we run is designed around what actually happens inside a fire — the heat, the exertion, the exposure. Understanding the job is the first requirement of protecting the people who do it.
Mission
Early detection. Clinical education. Routine monitoring.
Most on-duty firefighter fatalities are not the fire — they are the cardiovascular event on the way home from it, the cancer caught at stage IV, the suicide nobody saw coming. We believe every one of those is a clinical failure, and we are building the program that closes the gap.
Medical Staff
The clinicians behind the program.
Board-certified specialists in cardiology, oncology, and behavioral health — each with direct first-responder experience.
Dr. Marcus Halloran
Medical Director, Cardiology
Board-certified cardiologist, former NYC EMS. Lead author on three peer-reviewed studies of occupational cardiovascular risk in structural firefighters.
Dr. Sarah Whitford
Oncology & Risk Assessment
Medical oncologist with a clinical focus on firefighter-specific cancers. Adjunct researcher with the IAFF Cancer Project.
Dr. Andre Castillo
Founder & CEO
Former battalion chief turned physician. Built Interceptor after losing two crew members to undiagnosed cardiac disease within the same year.
Dr. Lena Park
Behavioral Health
Clinical psychologist specializing in first-responder PTSD, shift-work sleep disruption, and post-incident peer support programs.
What we stand for
Three commitments.
Evidence over tradition
We use the panels and imaging the literature actually supports for firefighter populations — not the bare minimum that satisfies an annual physical form.
Meet crews where they work
Our diagnostics travel. Mobile units, station visits, group bookings around shift schedules — we make screening easier to say yes to than to skip.
Confidentiality is non-negotiable
Records live with the firefighter, not the department. Aggregate insights inform chief-level briefings; individual results stay between patient and clinician.