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ARIZONA NEWS

Salt River firefighter dies from job-related cancer

Joseph Christopher served the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community for seven years. He died Tuesday after a yearlong fight with job-related cancer.

David Iversen BY DAVID IVERSEN
Jul 17, 2026, 11:57 AM Updated: 1:13 pm
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Salt River firefighter Joseph Christopher died this week after a yearlong fight with job-related cancer.

Christopher passed away Tuesday surrounded by loved ones.

The Salt River Indian Community announced Christopher’s death Thursday on social media, calling his courage throughout his illness “incredible.”

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“We are deeply grateful for his dedicated service to our community and the compassion he showed to those he served,” the Salt River Indian Community said in a statement.

Service information has not yet been released.

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David Iversen
David Iversen

David Iversen is a Phoenix-based journalist and digital content editor. He has covered local politics, national investigations and everything in between for FOX, The New York Times, Business Insider and other outlets. His work includes DuPont-winning… Read more

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1 Comments

T
TheReal AZNative 3 weeks ago

Wow. Only seven years on the job and succumbed to job-related cancer. Condolences to the family and thank you Firefighter Christopher for your service.

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