Government must look at effects of toxic smoke on Grenfell firefighters, minister says
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Union calls for regular health checks for 600 Grenfell firefighters after many developed long-term conditions. The government “needs to seriously look” at the effects of toxic smoke inhalation on firefighters who served at the Grenfell Tower fire, a minister has said.
The comments from Andrew Gwynne, the health minister, came after the Guardian disclosed that more than a quarter of firefighters who battled against the fire eight years ago have long-term health disorders. A report published on Friday in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, titled Grenfell Tower Fire: Toxic Effluents and Assessment of Firefighters’ Health Impacts, examined the health over three years of 524 of the 628 firefighters who attended the first day of the blaze.
Over the first three years, 136 reported lifechanging conditions. These included 11 cases of cancer, 64 respiratory diseases, 22 neurological disorders and 66 digestive illnesses. Asked on LBC about the Fire Brigade Union’s call for regular health checks for about 600 firefighters who served on or near Grenfell Tower in June 2017, Gwynne said he would speak to the fire minister in the home office, Diana Johnson.
“Certainly that’s something that I’m more than happy to take away and look at seriously because we recognise that people who go above and beyond putting their own lives at risk in situations like Grenfell Tower may well end up with health issues as a consequence of their own work.
