For years they just toughed out the smoke. Now, an effort emerges to protect firefighters’ health.
“These people are saving our lives, so we’ve got to save their lives,” said Lisa Moeller.
Moeller is a retired physician assistant and board member of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology, an advocacy group based in Eugene that is aimed at promoting safe and ecological wildland firefighting and management.
She tracks research about wildfire smoke and firefighter health. And she notes that a majority of studies done thus far have been on male cohorts, not accounting for biological impacts on women.
Regardless of their gender, though, wildland firefighters are “camping next to where a fire is and inhaling smoke overnight, and then they’re working 15- to 16-hour days and then getting about six hours of sleep in an uncomfortable situation,” Moeller said.
Merkley, Curtis Lead New Bipartisan Bill to Honor Fallen Wildland Firefighters
“Wildland firefighters put their lives on the line to protect communities and public lands from increasingly dangerous wildfires. When a firefighter does not make it home, their family should not have to face financial uncertainty on top of unimaginable loss. The Honoring Fallen Wildland Firefighters Act recognizes the tremendous risks these firefighters take and provides their families with the support they deserve,” said Timothy Ingalsbee, Executive Director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE).