The recent burnover deaths of three wildland firefighters brought the fireline’s immediate dangers into sharp focus. At the same time, federal land management agencies are taking further measures to address the work’s many long-term health risks.
Firefighters will now be able to use N95 masks on the fireline – building on a more limited, voluntary rollout of masking that started last fall. There will also be expanded access to showers, time for routine gear cleaning and so-called “clean air recovery periods” that can limit other risks.
“Exposure on the fireline is not limited to inhalation hazards,” a statement from the Department of Interior’s newly created U.S. Wildland Fire Service reads.
Persephone Whalen, a high-level risk official with the U.S. Forest Service, said that a lot more research is needed on long-term health dangers, but that we know enough now to take action.
“Let's just start minimizing those risks in every way possible that we can while we continue to learn more,” she said.
Research in recent years has established links between wildland firefighting and serious diseases, including lung cancer. Firefighters are exposed to dozens of known carcinogens on the job, and a growing list of cancers are now officially acknowledged as occupational risks of the work.
Whalen described the recent changes as “interim” measures while longer-term solutions – like a wildland respirator – are pursued. She said a pilot program for such a respirator will likely be started within a year, and in general, said there’s a lot of “momentum” around improving firefighter health.
“We're just going to keep riding this momentum and making it better for our employees,” she said.
USWFS Chief Brian Fennessy previously told the Mountain West Bureau that firefighter health and well-being will be top priorities.
“I think all of us that have experienced this, I think we have an obligation in many ways – especially those in leadership – to talk about it,” Fennessy, a cancer survivor with nearly five decades of structure and wildland fire experience, said.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Boise State Public Radio, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio and KJZZ in Arizona as well as NPR, with support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
