California Senators Demand PPE, Greater Smoke Protections for Wildland Firefighters | KQED

"For decades, firefighters facing some of the state's most destructive wildfires worked without proper masks or respirators, despite evidence showing long-term health risks from wildfire smoke. "Wildland firefighters deploy in the most extreme conditions to combat wildfires, preserve vital ecosystems, and save lives," Padilla said in a press release. "These heroic men and women should not be forced to face long-term illness or premature death due to smoke exposure on the job.""

"For decades, the U.S. Forest Service banned firefighters from wearing masks, arguing that they were too unwieldy for the job. In September, the Forest Service posted new guidance, paving the way for the new legislation. Joe Perez, a firefighter based out of Northern California, said he's fought wildland fires like the Tubbs Fire in 2017 and others in the area. "My whole career, I've worn a bandana or sometimes a facial shroud, which was standard practice," he said. "But fires are burning thousands of homes, the contents of the homes and vehicles, and you're sitting in that smoke for weeks at a time.""

"Perez was on administrative leave for months in 2024 due to lung damage sustained in the years prior. A person he was dating at the time told him he needed to get checked out because she heard him wheezing, he said. "She could smell the burnt plastics and stuff coming out of my skin for days." He now lives with reactive airway disease, which resembles asthma, because of all the smoke he's breathed."

Firefighters have often worked without proper masks or respirators while fighting some of the state's most destructive wildfires, despite evidence linking smoke exposure to long-term health risks. The U.S. Forest Service historically banned masks, calling them too unwieldy, but posted new guidance in September that could enable legislative action. Senators Adam Padilla and Adam Schiff sponsored a bill to explore landmark respiratory protections for wildland firefighters. Veteran firefighter Joe Perez described routine use of bandanas and facial shrouds, months of administrative leave for lung damage, and a diagnosis of reactive airway disease after prolonged smoke exposure.

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