Join the Cause to Understand and Reduce the Risk of Cancer in Wildland Firefighters

Details

• Personal Author:
  Attwood WR ; Beaucham, Catherine C.
• Description:
  Wildland firefighters perform a hazardous job in dangerous conditions. Their daily tasks pose risk of burns and other heat-related injuries or illnesses; slips, trips, falls, strains, and sprains; and becoming trapped or injured by equipment or debris. In addition, exposures related to fighting fires-especially when it comes to smoke inhalation-have been classified as "carcinogenic", or capable of causing cancer in humans. Federal agencies, such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the U.S. Forest Service, have undertaken research and field investigations to characterize many of the exposures these workers face. For example, exposure assessments have identified and measured acrolein, benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, as well as respirable particulate matter in the smoke to which wildland firefighters are exposed. Exposure to smoke has been associated with acute health effects in wildland firefighters such as declines in lung function and increases in inflammation. More recent studies have measured exposures during ground-level fire management tasks such as preparing fire suppression breaks, firing operations, and mop up.4 Despite our improved understanding of their occupational exposures, wildland firefighters haven't been the focus of many cancer studies. To address this knowledge gap for both wildland and structural firefighters, Congress passed the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act. Under this Act, NIOSH established the National Firefighter Registry (NFR) for Cancer to collect data from a large and diverse population of firefighters so that we can better understand the link between firefighting and cancer. Participation in this voluntary registry is open to all U.S. firefighters, with or without a cancer diagnosis. This is the largest effort ever undertaken to understand and reduce risk of cancer among U.S. firefighters, including wildland firefighters. As of February 2025, more than 4,500 participants have listed wildland firefighting (or supervisor positions) as job titles in the NFR. While this number is helpful to the effort, there is still work to be done to increase enrollment for a representative number of wildland firefighters across our nation. Wildland firefighters in Pennsylvania can consider enrolling in the NFR and aiding our collective effort to understand and reduce risk of cancer. Fire Foresters, Forest Fire Wardens, Fire Inspectors, Forest Fire Specialist Supervisors, and members of Forest Fire Warden Support crews who perform firefighting work in Pennsylvania are also eligible to enroll. Providing information about yourself and your work as a wildland firefighter can make a difference, and it only takes 5 minutes to get started by creating an account, providing consent, and completing the user profile. The questionnaire, which asks about your time in the fire service, takes a bit longer, but can be completed at your leisure by logging in and out of the secure web portal. Join the NFR for Cancer today and help us understand cancer risk in all firefighters, including among wildland firefighters. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Firefighters Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Cancer Registries Fire Fighters Forest Fires Occupational Exposure Surveillance Wildland Fires
• Publisher:
  Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Newsletter ; Lay Publication
• Place as Subject:
  Chicago Region [OSHA] ; Ohio ; Pennsylvania ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering ; RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  10-11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070690
• Citation:
  The Forest Fire Warden News. Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry, 2025 Spring; :10-11
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  The Forest Fire Warden News
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9aca847f2e9a09c1baf715f407822d016b0fc89421c7f9635a123e8ced3bfd68deab2cc0f6fd296c0761bf3b1780bae7c555f7f241312594db67aa962641e260
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208864/cdc_208864_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 356.15 KB ]