The firefighters on the frontline of forest fires – preliminary characterization of Bio4FOX study population
Authors: Esteves Filipa , Madureira Joana , Teixeira João Paulo , Costa Solange 
Published: October 2022

The increased frequency and intensity of forest fires have been concerning populations particularly in countries typically affected by this natural disaster. Portugal has been harshly afflicted by wildfires specially in the north and central regions. In the frontline of forest fire combat there is one of the riskiest occupations in the world â€“ firefighters. Firefighting involves high physical and psychological demanding activities typically performed in hostile environments. The proximity to fire exposes them not only to high temperatures but also to high concentrations of hazardous pollutants, most of which are listed as probable or known carcinogens. Given the above, IARC classified occupational firefighting activity as possibly carcinogenic to humans. However, it is still among the least studied occupations, existing very little information on exposure induced mechanisms that lead to health diseases. Thus, the general aim of Bio4FOX study is to identify a set of (bio)markers for the surveillance of Portuguese Wildland firefightersâ€™ occupational exposure during three phases, pre-, during and post- fire season. Here, we aim to describe the preliminary data on sociodemographic and occupational context of the Bio4Fox study population in the pre-fire season. For the 1st phase of the study were enrolled around 173 wildland firefighters from 14 fire stations located in the northern region of Portugal. Information on sociodemographic data, health status, lifestyle and occupational exposure were obtained via a comprehensive questionnaire. The study group was composed by 144 men and 29 women; the mean age of the group was 37.88Â±10.82. Most of the firefighters reported to be voluntary (83%; n=144) beginning their activities at young ages; more than half (n=93) started within 17 - 22 years old and 8% (n=14) of the individuals attended firefightersâ€™ activities at earlier ages (12-16 years old). The average length of service as firefighter was 15.87Â±10.17 years. Around 46% (n=79) claimed to spend more than 10 hours in their duties, while 34% (n=58) and 12% (n=21) spend 8-9hours and < 8 hours, respectively. Concerning their risk perception related to exposure to hazard contaminants, 79% (n=136) believed to be exposed to smoke, gases, and/or particles and 15% (n=25) to solvents (e.g., combustible). Self-reported symptoms (of last 30 days, not related with cold/flu) were: expectoration (14%; n=24), tiredness (13%; n=22), breath difficulty (9%; n=16), cough (8%; n=13) and wheezing (6%; n=10). Our preliminary data describes the sociodemographic factors and occupational activities of a group of Portuguese firefighters before the fire-season. This data will be integrated together with the biological and environmental findings collected over different time points of a wildfire season. Bio4FOX will contribute to the establishment of recommendations/good practices to improve firefightersâ€™ working conditions, as well support the definition of better policies/prevention strategies highly needed in this sector.