r/Wildfire • u/smokejumperbro USFS • 15d ago

News (General) Video: Why Wildfire Fighters Are Getting Dangerously Sick

https://www.nytimes.com/video/health/100000010339242/why-wildfire-fighters-are-getting-dangerously-sick.html?smid=url-share
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u/PeppersPops 15d ago

She’s missing the point, Wildland bros wouldn’t wear N95’s or use SCBA even if we had the option. The logistics would be insane to replace oxygen tanks on the line and it’d make our job that much harder. It’s just a risk of the trade we all accept.

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u/pegasuspish 15d ago

I don't think anyone is suggesting scba. Besides being heavy and cumbersome and logistically not feasible, oxygen is highly flammable. 

N95s are not in the same category, there is no logistical challenge there. Just cost and discomfort.

Like she pointed out too, other countries have wildland respirators. You're welcome not to wear them but I think people should have the option. I've seen lung cancer up close and it's not pretty.

I take issue with the fed actively repressing evidence that working conditions for firefighters are cancerous on a lot of different levels, again as the reporter said, sidestepping culpability and workers comp. I'm absolutely f***ing sick of seeing gofundme's for firefighters injured on the line or suffering through disease caused by their job.

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u/Fit_Conversation5270 15d ago

Most SCBA don’t contain oxygen, just compressed air. But wearing it would be exhausting and you’d still have to have a way to fill tanks…30 minutes is a common baseline time for a tank to last but it varies with work load and fitness.

I could see some sort of PAPR type device for holding or light work. Filter on your belt, not your face. It’d have to be modified for use case though.

And in camp, sleeper units could be utilized more often and include some air filtration so you’re not sleeping in it. (Do these already have filtration? I never use them and have only seen a couple.)