Hannah WeinbergerAug 30, 2023

“There are times where you just don’t breathe because you can’t.”

As fire season burns hotter for longer, more of the US’s ~1M firefighters face #Wildfires w/o respirators bc no model is approved to withstand demands of the job. I reviewed an unpublished draft NIOSH report suggesting manufacturers didn’t initially see enuf demand to merit designing these respirators.

Ty to sources for sharing re: how #smoke exposure creates “ticking time bombs” out of ppl protecting us: https://crosscut.com/investigations/2023/08/amid-heavy-smoke-wildfire-crews-work-without-practical-respirators

Amid heavy smoke, wildfire crews work without practical respirators

'There are times where you just don’t breathe, because you can’t.'

Crosscut
Show threadJulescelt

@Trailanderror When I was a wildlands firefighter, we didn't have anything. We used cotton bandanas. Sometimes we'd have to wet them to help w/heat and heavy smoke. I don't think many of us thought respirators would be helpful given conditions; very long days, amount of terrain covered in a day, and being able to see.

Maybe todays technology has or could come up with something.

Aug 30, 2023 at 5:04amWeb