Firefighters, who are actively involved in millions of fires in the world every year, work under serious health risks. Saying that the smoke and dangerous chemicals they are exposed to during their duties can cause many occupational diseases, including cancer, Ülke Industrial Corporate Solutions Director Murat Şengül shares 4 precautions for each individual who supports fire extinguishing efforts to be protected from these disease risks.
Worldwide, fires in forests, settlements or workplaces increase significantly every year, with the effect of climate change. Extinguishing workers, who often work at vital risk to fight these fires, are exposed to many harmful substances. Contrary to what is expected, there are no burns in the first place of the health problems that employees encounter while working with smoke, high temperature and chemicals with known carcinogenic effects during their duties. Muscle strain, sprains, heat stress, falls and slips, and respiratory tract ailments are among the most common health problems experienced by firefighters.
Comprehensive training and experience is everything. Fire has no rules. Different experiences can be gained in every fire experience. Therefore, gaining extensive training and experience before starting duty is one of the most important ways for firefighters to learn about injury and fire prevention.
-Full protective equipment prevents many risks. Firefighters always take care of protective clothing and equipment when fighting fires, so burns are not one of the most common problems. However, the same cannot be said for respiratory diseases. Much more attention should be paid to the use of appropriate masks and respirators in order to be protected from smoke, harmful chemicals and especially harmful toxins that occur in vehicles, garbage containers and building fires. For fires that may occur in industrial areas, escape masks or scuba breathing masks should be kept in areas accessible to employees, and no savings should be made from them.
Movements should be done as controlled as possible. During a fire, sudden rescue events, the necessity of carrying individuals or animals, evacuation reflexes and situations that require working in different positions may occur. Therefore, some discomforts due to excessive effort, sprains, muscle contractions and slip and fall are very common. In order to minimize such risks arising from working under difficult conditions, it is necessary to take breaks during duty, work in shifts, and perform regular exercises and exercises outside of work.
- Pay attention to personal and equipment cleanliness. All of the equipment must be cleaned by appropriate means immediately after the fire is intervened and returned to the center. Firefighters should take a shower, if possible, within 1 hour after duty. Although protective equipment limits contact with most harmful substances, small particles can get on the skin.
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