More than a quarter of Grenfell firefighters suffer long-term health disorders, study finds
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More than one quarter of firefighters who were exposed to toxic smoke while working to extinguish Grenfell Tower have reportedly developed long-term health disorders. Another 74 were injured, 20 seriously, in the fire which took 24 hours to bring under control and 60 hours to fully extinguish. But the full repercussions on the lives of firefighters is still being found out.
University of Central Lancashire professor and toxicology expert Anna Stec released the findings which showed that of the 524 firefighters who responded to the scene, 136 reported life-changing conditions. Of these, there were 11 cases of cancer, 64 respiratory diseases, 22 neurological disorders and 66 digestive illnesses.
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Professor Stec found that the urgency of the call-out led to many firefighters not putting on respiratory protection for parts of the operation. The report said a programme of “rapid and comprehensive health screening, followed by prioritised treatment, similar to that used for the [World Trade Center] firefighters would be very likely to reduce the incidence of premature deaths among these firefighters”.
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It added: “Among the group exposed to smoke, there seems to be a high proportion of digestive diseases among all those reporting any immediate health symptoms. “In contrast, among those not reporting exposure to smoke, the incidence of the most common longer-term health outcomes is significantly lower, typically a third of the incidence of those exposed to smoke.
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