FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta — In the wake of the Fort McMurray wildfire that caused over 80,000 people to evacuate, researchers have begun tracking the health of firefighters battling the fire.
Occupational epidemiologist Nicola Cherry at the University of Alberta is taking blood, urine and breath samples of firefighters returning from the Fort McMurray area in a mobile laboratory, reported firefightingincanada.com.
“They said the smoke was unbelievably dense — worse than anything they’d ever seen — and they are concerned about their health from that,” Cherry told CTV News.
According to government officials, the air quality health index is typically measure on a scale of one to 10 and exceeded that by reaching 38 and 51 during the fire.
“What we’re aiming to do is see if any of the breathing problems they’re having now are associated with a particular pattern — types of exposure or patterns of exposure — during the fire,” Cherry said.
Cherry said hazardous smoke from the wildfire is a health concern for those working in the area.
So far, 55 firefighters have been tested, whom Cherry plans to follow up with in three months.
Cherry aims to discern if there are any patterns while comparing factors such as work hours and respiratory devices with long-term health effects.
“Are those who worked for 15 hours more likely to get long-term respiratory problems than somebody who only worked eight hours? Or is somebody who was wearing one type of respiratory protection less likely than somebody who was wearing a different type or none at all?”