Wildfire fighters work in heavy smoke and have little protection in Canada

After 13 seasons of battling smoky wildfires in Ontario and BC, Ian Sachs said his body was starting to feel the wear and tear.

“You’re often in smoke. Even with a small initial attack, you’re usually breathing in smoke,” Sachs said.

“When you’re 22 and doing it, you don’t think about it. But once you’re over 30 and you start to feel the burn, it creeps up on you. That maybe I should think about this later.”

Sachs said the main thing he noticed about acute smoke exposure was how it lingered in his body, especially when he and other FireRangers often camped near the fires they were fighting.

“Waking up with a kind of smoke hangover in the morning,” he said. “Once that smoke settles, you breathe it in all night and wake up with that wheezing and that headache.”

Sachs said he was never offered any form of respiratory protection outside of COVID. But he’s not sure if there were any masks that would have worked or sealed properly in wildfires.

“You’re in the woods. You’re taking branches in your face. You’re wet. You’re sweaty. You’re hot. And you’re out there making 16-hour days and then you’re wearing something when you’re sleeping at night in your tent? Probably not. I just don’t know if they can really design something for forest fires.”

Indeed, the environment of a wildfire makes it harder to find a mask that works comfortably and isn’t too bulky to carry for long days and long distances.

But with wildfire risk rising in Canada and firefighters facing increased levels of cancer, some are unwilling to accept the status quo in which there are no requirements for respiratory protection.

‘We… bury too many firefighters’

In Canada more than 85 percent of firefighter death claims are attributed to cancer, and research from numerous studies has shown that firefighters are at high risk for a number of diseases, including lung and breast cancer.

The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) says those same illnesses are associated with wildfire smoke.

Neil McMillan, the director of science and research for the IAFF’s Occupational Safety and Health Division, said his organization is concerned about the increased incidence, frequency and severity of wildfires across Canada and the lack of special protective masks for those on the run. front lines.

“Unfortunately, there is currently no good standard for firefighters who have to work in dynamic fire situations, in wildland and wild urban interface environments in other places around the world,” McMillan said.

“There are no real mandatory requirements for good respiratory protection that filters carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and these fine particles that we know are associated with the diseases that kill firefighters.

“We unfortunately bury too many firefighters because of the illnesses they contract from exposure to the fire,” McMillan said. “We can’t put the genie back in the bottle when those exposures happen.”

McMillan said the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce wildfire firefighters’ exposure is not a provincial problem, but a national one, and the IAFF is encouraging all levels of government to invest in protecting firefighters.

“As we currently rely on bandanas and the like to protect our airways, we know there’s a lot to do and hopefully we’ll see some products on the market soon,” he said.

Which masks can do the job?

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) says it has not yet approved any respirators on the market that specifically protect against all possible inhalation hazards in the extreme conditions of a wildfire. But an email to CBC News stated that some NIOSH-approved masks have been recommended to help protect wildland firefighters from certain smoke hazards present in fires.

NIOSH noted that in November 2022, the Department of Homeland Security conducted a market study that looked at available respiratory protection methods for wildland firefighters. It identified 26 air-purifying respirators (APR) and powered air-purifying respirators.

One of those devices is also currently under investigation for use by the BC Wildfire Service.

The Sundstrom SR100 is NIOSH approved to provide protection against particulates in smoke as well as a number of vapors and other gases. The design allows people to stack multiple filters for different conditions.

Jonathan Parker, Sundstrom’s North American sales manager, says he has sold the mask to more than 40 fire departments in Canada and the US, and the mask has been widely used by crews in California, Australia, the UK, Europe and Indonesia. They even sell it as part of a specialized wildfire kit.

Parker says his wildland kit also includes a spark arrester that clips onto the outside and prevents the filters from catching fire.

“They’ve been field-tested pretty extensively at this point, and they’ve passed every test,” Parker said.

Provinces are testing possible masks

In addition to studying the Sundstrom mask, the BC Wildfire Service says it is working with multiple outside health and safety groups to test the feasibility of using the Australian-made Fair Air Fire Mask and the RZ M2.5 mesh mask to the ground. It says that the N95 is currently the only mask in regular use by the crew.

Alberta says wildland firefighters are not required to wear respirators or masks, but masks are recommended for short-term discretionary use while crews move. Since 2018, the province has been participating with BC in a University of Alberta research study looking at potential health risks for firefighters. The study also tests different types of masks, from N-95s to masks used in military or police operations, evaluating them for comfort, durability, how easy they are to maintain and fire resistance. It says the respiratory protective equipment currently used in Alberta requires fitness testing and medical screening for safe use.

In Ontario, Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services says FireRangers do not use masks or respirators on the line of fire. The county said crews are strategically positioned where possible on fires against the wind so the FireRangers can operate safely. However, particulate filter respirators (P100 or P95) are required for all workers assigned to a prescribed burn in an area where poison ivy may be present.

In QuebecSociété de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU) told CBC News that N95 respirators are the only type of respiratory protection the teams currently use and are available to all of its firefighters and subcontractors.

The RCMP, often called upon to monitor smoke-shrouded roadblocks, assist with evacuations and monitor evacuated communities, does have some standards for respirators and masks.

In Alberta, K Division RCMP officers are tested every two years for suitability for 3M or Honeywell half masks, depending on their facial structure. They also come with 2 types of cartridges for different types of smoke hazards: one for the particulates of wildfire smoke and a multi-gas combination cartridge that provides additional protection against particulates from the smoke and the chemical by-products of paints, plastics and some other materials.

Ian Sachs says he now has his days as a firefighter behind him and hopes the next generation of firefighters will at least have the opportunity to be better protected from the smoke.

“Hopefully in the next few years there will be something and the boys and girls will be able to wear it when they find themselves in those situations. But you can’t wear it all the time and I don’t think you’ll ever get to that point.”