Wildland Firefighter Risks
Hazardous Exposure Environment
The wildfire smoke image to the right is from the excellent presentation by Drew Lichty, Mitigation Strategies for Wildfire Smoke and Other Respiratory Hazards in Wildland Firefighting, May 2024 Mitigation Strategies for Wildfire Smoke and Other Respiratory Hazards in Wildland Firefighting
Research examining wildland firefighting environments has identified elevated exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), benzene, and other combustion by-products. Studies suggest an increased lung cancer mortality risk for wildland firefighters, with estimates varying based on duration and intensity of exposure.
Wildland firefighters are also subject to prolonged ultraviolet radiation exposure during extended work periods. When combined with dermal exposure to soot and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), this has been associated with increased risk of skin cancers, including malignant melanoma.
High Exposures Wildland Firefighters Face
Drew Lichty, Mitigation Strategies for Wildfire Smoke and Other Respiratory Hazards in Wildland Firefighting, May 2024 Mitigation Strategies for Wildfire Smoke and Other Respiratory Hazards in Wildland Firefighting
NY Times article
Oct 28, 2025
’12 Hours in the Smoke’
Highlights how wildfire smoke exposes wildland firefighters, using personal exposure monitors (Atmotube Pro) to PM2.5 levels over 500 µg/m³, peaking at 1,000, far surpassing the U.S. EPA’s hazardous threshold of 225.5 µg/m³, 24-hour.
Note to access the article, requires you create a free account https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/10/28/us/wildfire-smoke-firefighter-deaths.html
Research: Long-Term Health Risks for Wildland Firefighters
WILDFIRE SMOKE = HIGHER CANCER & HEART RISK
(Everyone knows)
A 2019 study (Navarro et al., Environmental Research)
+8% to +43% lung cancer mortality
+16% to +30% cardiovascular mortality
Risk climbs with every extra fire day and every extra year on the line.
Yukon firefighters face this reality every season.
The 2026 Yukon Pilot starts early cancer screening on the most venerable group of firefighters, wildland
Increasing Wildland Fire Smoke exposure from Climate Change
A 2025 study (Zhang, Q., Wang, Y., Xiao, Q. et al. Long-range PM2.5 pollution and health impacts from the 2023 Canadian wildfires. Nature 645, 672–678)
found the 2023 wildfires were a global health emergency, causing 82,100 chronic deaths globally.
This scale of impact and the projection of annual burn area to double by 2100 underscores the even greater risk for wildland firefighters.
As fires intensify, they produce more toxic Wildfire Smoke (WFS)—a complex mix of gases and fine particulates that travel thousands of kilometers. This trend is drastically increasing the duration and toxicity of smoke exposure for both frontline firefighters and the public.
Lack of Wildland Firefighter Guidelines and Data
- There is no “Wildfire smoke” or “PM2.5” Occupational exposure limit
- There are no Federal wildland firefighter exposure guidelines
- There are no wildland firefighter cancer screening guidelines
- We have no baseline wildland firefighter cancer screening, exposure data
Most data & guidelines based on structural firefighters
Everyone agrees we need more wildland firefighter cancer research
Firefighters face Increased Cancer Risks
Firefighter Cancer Gaps: Wildland
Canada’s National Framework on Cancers Linked to Firefighting (Health Canada, October 2024)
Urgent need for targeted research, screening, & data for wildland firefighters — especially remote northern & Indigenous communities.
Yukon firefighters face this reality every season.
The 2026 Yukon Pilot helps fill this gap:
Focus on wildland firefighters:
– to deliver early cancer screening and education
– provide researchers with core data to help advance cancer screening guidelines
Deathly Toll of Cancer on Canadian
Firefighters
Health Canada reports that all firefighters experience
~ 9% higher risk of cancer diagnosis
~14% higher cancer mortality compared
to the general population
Cancer accounts for over 85% of all occupational firefighter fatality claims
We do not presently know what these rates are for Wildland Firefighters.
