firefighters

Committee chairman Rep. John Bear (R-Gillette) said there were three areas he wanted the committee to explore: mangement, preparation and funding.

It would be called the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, according to budget documents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior. The agency would consolidate the wildland fire programs of the USDA and Interior within the latter.

After being shut down “indefinitely” at the start of April, the registration portal of the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer is operational again. The registry is considered by many to be one of the largest and most promising efforts to further understand cancer risks among firefighters, including wildland firefighters.

Nearly every member of the Vedauwoo Volunteer Fire Department resigned over the recent firing of their chief. The area is still being served by another nearby department.

Wildland firefighter advocates are celebrating the permanent pay raises included in a larger funding bill passed by Congress late last week.

Wildland firefighters have been pushing for permanent pay raises for years. A stopgap funding measure approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and now heading to the Senate would do just that.

Researchers are working to better understand the toxic exposures faced by the firefighters who responded.

That decision by the Department of Labor was based on a review of evidence that concluded that “female firefighters, more likely than not, face heightened risks for breast, uterine and ovarian cancers… due to the toxic exposures they face in their work.”

Wildland firefighters and their advocates pushed hard for permanent pay raises before Congress’ holiday recess. What firefighters got instead was yet another last-minute extension of temporary raises.

Researchers pored over roughly four dozen papers that assessed exposure to various carcinogens on the fireline. They identified 31 carcinogens – including asbestos, volatile organic compounds like benzene and crystalline silica.