FBU general secretary Matt Wrack reflects on the DECON campaign so far and the fight ahead
When it comes to the hidden dangers of toxic contaminants in fire, it is firefighters leading the way to safety. While politicians and bosses have buried their heads in the sand, the Fire Brigades Union has spearheaded the DECON campaign.
When the government told us that there was not enough data to act, we commissioned independent research. When they refused to provide funding, we set up the Firefighters 100 lottery to raise the money.
And when fire service employers failed to communicate the risk of exposure to toxic fire effluents, we created our own decontamination guidance and training. We have fought for changes to policy, procedures, PPE and equipment at every level: generating a wave of change across fire and rescue services.
Working with the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), our union has funded and commissioned several momentous projects pioneered by Professor Anna Stec, a world-leading expert in fire chemistry and toxicology. We are now expecting the latest research in early 2025, building on the case we have been making for the past few years. As we prepare to launch the next stage of our campaign, now is the time to reflect on the progress we have made – and the way there is left to go.
THE BIG PICTURE
In 2022, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a World Health Organisation body, classified occupational exposure as a firefighter as carcinogenic: a preventable cause of cancer. The US, Canada, Australia, and Poland, among others, all have laws in place which recognise that firefighters are at risk of occupational diseases.
The UK is trailing decades behind. Our demands are clear. Prevent exposure through decontamination and PPE; protect firefighters’ health with regular health monitoring, catching diseases early; properly recognise and compensate firefighters who receive an occupational diagnosis.
But in the UK, the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council still does not recognise that these diseases are occupational. We need to pressure government bodies to ensure that they listen to the evidence and review their position – which is out of step with the rest of the world – by passing new laws to protect firefighters.
BREAKING NEW GROUND
The first of the reports we commissioned from UCLan was published in 2020. It examined how contaminants can be inhaled, ingested, or absorbed through the skin. It found that contaminated kit such as dirty gloves and helmets put firefighters at risk after an incident, and recommended steps to avoid cross contamination through cleaning kit, clothes and spaces.
In 2023, UCLan published five more research papers that provided the missing data. They found that firefighters are developing cancer at higher rates and at younger ages compared to the general population.
Looking at Scottish firefighters’ death certificates, the scientists identified that firefighters have a higher mortality rate from cancers. Exposure to contaminants is also impacting mental health, with firefighters more likely to report depression and anxiety. And this was shown to be preventable.
Firefighters in the study were twice as likely to develop cancer if they noticed soot in their nose or throat, or remained in PPE for more than four hours. This data was not a surprise, but it has made waves. “Cancer Incidence Amongst UK Firefighters” was one of the leading science magazine Nature’s most downloaded cancer papers of 2023.
As the first studies of their kind for the UK, this research has put paid to the excuse that there is not enough evidence to act.
Understanding the issue is crucial, but we cannot wait around for the bosses to come up with the next steps. Over the past two years, the FBU has worked with UCLan to test a record number of UK firefighters.
A team of scientists travelled far and wide for the project, collecting blood and urine samples from hundreds of firefighters in each location and analysing them in the UCLan lab.
WE DID NOT STOP
Though some fire and rescue services declined to support the research by allowing us to use facilities or providing funding, this has not stopped us. In the West Midlands, FBU members staged a fundraising football match – joined by former England footballers Tony Morley and Geoff Thomas.
They managed to secure a local football stadium as a site to test 100 firefighters, thanks to the support of Boldmere St Michael’s FC.
One thousand firefighters have participated in nine regions across the UK. When I visited the UCLan laboratory this November, I saw for myself the scale of the tasks undertaken.
The Firefighters 100 lottery has contributed to state-ofthe-art technology, helping fund and secure essential equipment to enable the research. We met technicians and saw testing in action. This busy lab will soon produce the next round of results, adding to our growing bank of evidence. These samples are being analysed for markers of PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) otherwise known as forever chemicals, as well as detecting a number of biomarkers for cancers and other diseases, and levels of toxic chemicals. Once the numbers have been crunched, we hope to gain a fuller picture of the level of risk to firefighters’ health.
This research will provide a scientific basis for health monitoring, showing which tests firefighters need regularly.
FALLOUT FROM A DISASTER
In parallel to the testing programme, UCLan has also been piecing together a ground-breaking study examining the health impact of the exposure firefighters faced at the Grenfell Tower fire. There are lessons to learn from this horrific and unprecedented fire that will shape our profession in the years to come.
Following the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001, a life-long health monitoring programme was established for emergency responders and the local community, enabling early treatment of cancers. Our thoughts are always with the 72 people who lost their lives at Grenfell Tower that night.
And though no firefighter was killed, we know that a tragedy of that scale takes a serious physical and mental toll on first responders. It is vital that everyone who responded to the incident is offered support, monitoring and treatment. Firefighter safety is about much more than just getting out of a burning building. We need the government and fire and rescue services to act now to protect the health of the frontline.
REMOVING A LIFELINE
Progress has not always been smooth. In recent years, while firefighters have been advancing the cause of firefighter health, the National Fire Chief’s Council (NFCC) has concocted a new policy that would commit firefighters to being deployed beyond a bridgehead at a fire in a high-rise building without activated breathing apparatus. Not only does this put lives in danger at an incident, where being “under air” is crucial to preventing injury or death due to smoke inhalation; it also puts firefighters’ health at risk in the long run.
The FBU successfully challenged the London Fire Brigade when plans to introduce this dangerous policy were announced, and a panel of experts ruled it to be a deliberate breach of health and safety laws. We have now taken the case to the Health and Safety Executive, which has so far failed to conduct a meaningful investigation into the safety concerns. After having to apologise for failing to act on the complaint for a year, the regulator published a review relying on assumptions instead of competent assessment of the threat the policy poses. The FBU continues to challenge the outcome of this flawed and insulting investigation, raising it at all levels.
FROM FIRE STATIONS TO PARLIAMENT
When we embarked on the DECON project, 75% of fire stations displayed no information about contaminants. Most firefighters had not heard about the risks of bringing soot and smoke back to the fire station or home. Now, thousands of firefighters have watched our training videos. Posters outlining simple steps to decontaminate – so firefighters can take precautions to protect themselves, their co-workers and families – are plastered across fire stations everywhere. The campaign has been debated at Holyrood in Edinburgh, and in the Senedd in Cardiff.
The FBU pushed for Labour to commit to setting up a statutory advisory body, which would be able to raise the issue of health monitoring and set DECON standards. Angela Rayner, now deputy prime minister, spoke in support of the campaign at FBU conference in 2023. And in the first few months of the new Labour government, we have sat down with ministers to raise the issue of firefighter cancer. But we have a way to go.
Across the UK, fire stations are still lacking in facilities, PPE and cleaning contracts. And we will keep piling on the pressure until all firefighters in the UK are protected, monitored, and compensated for occupational diseases caused by exposure to contaminants. We must make sure that central government takes action – and soon.
We fight in memory of every firefighter who has tragically lost their life to these occupational diseases. But we are also fighting for the future, to ensure that our generation and future generations of firefighters are protected at work.
