Letter to the Editor on Wildfires in 2023.

Meg Sears and Richard van de Jagt got this letter published 10 June 2023 in the Globe and Mail.

Re “More than 400 wildfires still active in Canada” (June 10): With unprecedented wildfires across Canada and the heroic efforts of multitudes of firefighters rushing to the rescue, we pause to think of the myriad risks from smoke, physical dangers, stress and exhaustion they face.  We owe them our lives and long-standing indebtedness, but shockingly, firefighters’ average life span is 10 years less than the average Canadian’s.  As well as toxic chemicals in smoke from forests and buildings, firefighters absorb chemicals from their gear.  Substances to repel water, and to retard ignition and burning, have been associated for decades with increased risk of cancer, IQ deficits, hyperactivity, hormone disruption, reduced fertility and more.  Today’s fires are the face of accelerating climate chaos. Canada must multiply efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, halt monoculture forestry and foster firebreaks such as aspen and birch, and find safer options for firefighters’ gear and practices, to prevent both fires, and firefighters’ toxic exposures.

Meg Sears, Chair, Prevent Cancer Now Ottawa

Richard van der Jagt MD, FRCPC; adjunct professor of medicine, University of Ottawa