Momentum is building toward deployment of respirators to protect wildland firefighters from a long list of toxins. But researchers argue that the workforce’s practical concerns would need to be addressed for implementation to be successful.
At a minimum, wildland firefighters are exposed to 31 carcinogens while on the fireline. And they typically have no respiratory protection during their long, punishing shifts and weeks-long deployments. But change could be coming: a bipartisan bill mandating the development of a respirator was recently introduced, and federal agencies are studying improvements to protective equipment for firefighters.
“One of the key things that we found is actually that firefighters were not fundamentally opposed to the idea of respiratory protection, because they were all very well aware of health hazards,” said Rachael Jones, a professor at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health and co-author of a recent paper on firefighter attitudes toward respirators.
But, she said, firefighters do have some concerns.
“When to use it, how can you use it without decreasing your ability to perceive your safety risks?” Jones said. “And how can you use it without significantly increasing your fatigue or level of exertion?”
To be successful, she argued, “it's going to require the fire service to implement a management of change process to make sure that they have engagement and buy-in from the fire service personnel.”
But if that’s done, she added, “in three to five years, use of a respirator in this setting could become a new norm.”
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.
