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(KTXL) – The Conservation of forest fires is conducting a first-of-its-kind cancer study firefighters fighting the Foc de les Palisades. The goal is to track how extreme conditions increase the risk of cancer for firefighters.
The study comes after the International Agency for Research on Cancer officially classified firefighting as a carcinogenic profession.
The initiative is a collaboration with Cal Fire, the National Firefighter Cancer Cohort Study and the University of Arizona.
Dr. Matt Rahn, executive director of the Wildfire Conservatory, describes conditions in the Palisades fire as a “toxic soup of air and ash.”.“
“This is the equivalent of an exposure incident on the scale of 9/11 and we need to start treating them as such,” he said.
The firefighters who fight The palisades light up are exposed to dangerous substances such as carbon monoxide and heavy metals, which can cause cancer, respiratory problems and neurological damage.
“This is not a forest fire where you just burn the vegetation,” Rahn continued. “That’s, you know, thousands of homes, a pollution event.”
The 50 participating firefighters will have their blood drawn, give a urine sample and share personal data. They also receive silicone wristbands that absorb pollutants such as ash, soot and smoke that will be tested.
“We’re making plans with Cal Fire and others at the studio to do a post-exposure and post-fire blood sample,” Rahn said. “One of the things we can look at is micro-RNA in the blood because it’s a marker of how much DNA damage has been done.”
“Many of these firefighters expect, at some point, to get cancer, and they know that what they’re doing today is helping future firefighters,” he added.
Cancer has taken its toll on the Sacramento firefighting community.
“We’ve had several young firefighters with young families die from cancer, and it’s absolutely devastating,” said Parker Wilbourn, a spokesman for Sacramento Metro Fire. “It’s not the retirees anymore.”
“Here locally, we have a protocol to decontaminate after every incident, but in the South, when you’re at base camp or deployed outside, we don’t have those resources available,” Wilbourn added.
The team will carry out the study in the Fire of Palisades for as long as it remains active.
The researchers hope to turn their work into a multi-generational study and see an improvement in the protective equipment, precautions and interventions of wildland firefighters in the near future.
For those in Los Angeles, the doctor recommends wearing an N95 mask and turning it off every few days if you’re near the flames.
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