Background/Objectives: It is estimated every year, thousands of U.S. wildland and wildland-urban interface (WUI) firefighters are deployed to fight wildfires. These types of firefighters tend to work in dangerous, challenging and dynamic environments for extended periods, leading to hazardous chemical exposures, injuries, and in some cases, fatalities. This qualitative study aimed to examine the wildland and WUI firefighter perspective on occupational risks and health concerns.

Methods: We conducted qualitative interviews and administered a 1-page short demographic questionnaire to wildland and WUI firefighters from September – November 2019. Firefighters were recruited from distinct fire departments from Florida and California. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis, while quantitative data were summarized using descriptive statistics.

Results: A total of 90 wildland and WUI firefighters were interviewed, of which 97.8% were male with a mean age of 37.9 ± 10.7 years. 80.0% identified as white, and 29.5% as Hispanic. Approximately 8% of participants reported a cancer diagnosis and 35.6% reported a parent cancer history. Firefighters expressed their biggest health concern is not being able to breath clean air while fighting wildfires as (1) they encounter fuels that are not organic, and (2) they do not wear SCBAs during their deployment assignments. Health symptoms such as headaches, chronic coughs, sinus infections, black phlegm, among others that last for days after wildfire deployment were reported. They also expressed occupational risks related to fighting wildfires by geographic location that require varying tools; for example, Florida wildland firefighters fear dozers will catch fire and cause a fatality whilst California firefighters expressed falling trees are a big safety hazard while on the job.

Conclusion: Wildland and WUI firefighters identified specific occupational health and safety concerns, particularly in relation to cancer risk. They seek respiratory protection mechanisms or equipment that factors in their unique fire suppression activities.