People who work on the front lines of Canada's wildfires often do so without specialized respiratory protection. Provincial government and firefighting associations are studying which respirators would get the job done.
International Association of Fire Fighters says those same diseases are associated with wildfire smoke.Neil McMillan, the director of science and research for the Occupational Health, Safety and Medicine Division of the IAFF, said his organization is concerned about the increased incidence, frequencies and severity of wildfires across Canada and the lack of speciality protective masks for those on the front lines.
"There's no real mandatory requirements for proper respiratory protection that filters out carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and these fine particulates that we know are associated to the diseases that are killing firefighters. "Currently, when we rely on bandanas and things of that nature to protect our respiratory tracts, we know that there's a lot of ground to cover and hopefully we'll see some products on the market shortly,"' he said.The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health says to date it hasn't approved any respirators on the market which specifically protect against all potential inhalation hazards in the extremes of a wildland fire environment.
Jonathan Parker, Sundstrom North American sales manger, says he's sold the respirator to over 40 fire departments across Canada and the U.S., and the mask has been used extensively by crews in California, Australia, the UK, Europe, and Indonesia. They even sell it as a part of a specialized wildland fire kit.
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