Federal firefighters will be encouraged to wear N95 respirators in major policy reversal

U.S. newsFederal firefighters will be encouraged to wear N95 respirators in major policy reversalAlthough wildland firefighters are at high risk for smoke-related health issues, the U.S. Forest Service has been slow to offer protection. For decades, respirators were not allowed.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00A U.S. Fish and Wildfire firefighter and Denver firefighter monitor a prescribed burn at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Denver in 2021.Helen H. Richardson / Denver Post via Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 24, 2026, 11:19 AM EDTBy Evan Bush and Alicia Victoria LozanoFor the first time, federal firefighters will be encouraged to wear respirators to protect them against smoke-related hazards as they work to put out wildland blazes. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The U.S. Forest Service announced Wednesday that firefighters were authorized to use N95 respirators on the fire line, a major policy reversal as the agency for decades did not allow such protections, even as studies demonstrated the health harms of wildfire smoke. “It’s long, long overdue,” said George Broyles, a longtime USFS firefighter who has researched wildfire exposure risks. “There’s no doubt that our men and women out there are at higher risk of cancer and heart disease.” To Broyles, the policy change represents a long-awaited acknowledgement from the Forest Service that wildfire smoke is toxic and that the agency ought to find ways to reduce its workers’ risks. The Forest Service has been slow to address the health effects of wildfire smoke and to enact worker protections in the difficult-to-control environment of a wildfire. When wildfire smoke is inhaled, volatile gases and tiny particles can pass through the lining of the lungs and enter the bloodstream. In the broader U.S. population, exposure to this smoke is associated with asthma, lung cancer and other chronic l...