Exposure of firefighters to carbon monoxide during rescue and fire fighting interventions - a 6-year analysis

Abstract

Exposure to carbon monoxide is a common hazard in firefighting practice throughout the year, regardless of the winter heating season. Therefore this analysis of the interventions of fire protection units in incidents related to carbon monoxide exposure of a non-fire origin. The objectives include two risk groups: people affected by the intervention and the health risks to fire officers themselves.The analysed material covers the years 2017-2022 and interventions of fire protection units in incidents related to carbon monoxide exposure of a non-fire origin (chemical hazard events). Data from the Decision Support System of the State Fire Service (DSSSFS), provided to the authors by the Operational Planning Office at the Headquarters of the State Fire Service, were used in the study.According to the records of the State Fire Service (SFS) in the years 2017-2022, there were 28,766 (Mean 4794; SD 413) chemical hazard events: carbon monoxide was the cause. There were only 5724 reports of symptoms with a known CO concentration and 1974 reports with clinical symptoms. Statistically significant differences were demonstrated in exposure time (p= 0.028) and average CO concentration in the analysed years (p<0.001). Noteworthy is the sudden reduction in the exposure time following the year 2020.The actual exposure of firefighters to carbonmonoxide is greater than in the above analysis, in addition, there are exposures from fire incidents. Procedures, measuring equipment, and personal protective equipment protect firefighters from absorbing harmful substances into the body, but the large number of incidents and the visible clinical symptoms in victims should prompt firefighters with many years of service to observe even the smallest worrying neurological changes in themselves.