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Hamilton Spectator
13-07-2025
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Is this enough to protect firefighters' lungs? Ontario gives new face coverings — but documents lay bare their shortcomings
The grey scarf is made from the same flame-retardant material as their uniforms, but it's not doing much to protect their lungs. The BarriAire neck gaiters issued to Ontario forest firefighters this summer to filter out carcinogenic smoke aren't certified for workplace use, will not protect wearers from particulates, gases and vapours and are 'not acceptable as a stand-alone control to reduce exposure,' according to an internal Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) document. Nevertheless, the MNR recommends that Ontario fire rangers 'wear one as much as possible, when conditions allow, during suppression of active fires, mop-up, or while at staging areas, line camp, and base camp,' according to a March 2025 safety training bulletin, obtained by the Star. Last year, front-line wildland firefighters won a long battle to get presumptive illness coverage at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, recognizing that chronic exposure to wildfire smoke can lead to a lengthy list of cancers or cardiovascular disease. While this means veteran firefighters can get compensation for previous exposure to toxic substances, it also left the provincial government scrambling to protect the fire rangers on the job today. An Ontario fire ranger wears a 'buff' issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources for the first time in 2025 to provide protection against toxic particles in smoke. Their solution: buffs. The safety bulletin says the MNR is still studying exposure levels and appropriate protection and brought in the buffs as an interim measure on a 'nonmandatory, opt-in basis.' But introducing new personal protective equipment (PPE) has cleaved a culture clash between veterans, many of whom don't consider forest fire smoke to be dangerous, and a new generation of wildfire fighters who are more likely to want respiratory protection. Both groups appear to agree on one thing: like cotton masks during COVID, the buffs are totally ineffective. 'Nobody wears them other than the odd rookie,' said Noah Freedman, a crew leader with 10 seasons experience fighting wildfires. 'You don't have to be a PhD to understand they don't do anything.' They don't have a good seal, they get dirty 'instantaneously' and they're hot, making it hard to breathe, said Freedman, who is also vice-president of the wildland firefighter's union, OPSEU Local 703. Meanwhile, a rookie fire ranger working in northwestern Ontario says half his crew members wear one but no crew bosses or supervisors do. 'People don't take it very seriously,' said the fire ranger, whom the Star agreed not to name because they aren't permitted to speak with the media. 'They say the safety briefings are just propaganda. Smoke is par for the course. It's what you sign up for.' 'Of course, I don't agree,' they added. 'When I'm on the fire line, if I'm not wearing it, I can feel it in my lungs. My nose gets stuffy. 'I highly doubt they are filtering out the worst stuff,' said the fire ranger. 'But something's better than nothing.' In response to questions about the buff, Maria Votsis, spokesperson for Natural Resources Minister Mike Harris Jr. sent a statement saying the introduction of the buffs this year was not liked to the newly-won cancer coverage for firefighters. 'The narrative suggested in your questions … that the sole motivation behind the addition of masks to FireRanger's PPE is because they now have WSIB presumptive coverage for several cancers, linked to smoke exposure, is an irresponsible narrative and blatantly untrue,' she wrote. 'We are proud to be recognized as leaders in wildland firefighting safety, ensuring FireRanger teams are equipped with specialized equipment to keep them safe on the job,' she wrote, adding that the buffs 'provide a measure of respiratory protection in the field.' Wildfire fighting presents unique challenges for determining the best way to protect workers, said Sandra Dorman, a professor in the Faculty of Health at Laurentian University and the director of the Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health. Dorman, who has been studying forest firefighter health and safety at the Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services branch of the MNR since 2007, says you can't just issue the same oxygen tank and full-mask respirator that municipal fire departments use. Fire rangers spend entire days on the fire line and would quickly run out of oxygen. The extra weight would encumber the small helicopters that ferry people and equipment in and out of fires. The mask, some argue, would provide a false sense of security and get fire rangers into dangerous situations they never would have been in if they were breathing without assistance. But perhaps worst of all, the respirators would exacerbate the already intense heat fire rangers encounter, increasing the likelihood of heat stroke, trading one health hazard for another. 'It's another layer of heat entrapment,' she said. 'I don't think anyone questions anymore the health effects of smoke. But this is a complex problem to solve.' Unlike B.C. wildfire fighters, who leave the fire overnight, Ontario's fire rangers camp for up to two weeks at remote fires, because there is no way in or out except by helicopter. This means fire fighters in B.C. get recovery time away from smoke, she said, while in Ontario, they're exposed 24 hours a day, which affects their bodies' ability to bounce back. This season, Dorman is gathering data from air quality monitors that will be carried by fire rangers, positioned on the fire line and in base camp to help the MNR determine the best way to mitigate the effects of smoke. 'How can we reduce exposure?' she asked. 'What can we do at night in the tent to help recovery?' Previous studies Dorman carried out on Ontario wildland firefighters found they had increased inflammation in their airways due to smoke exposure and their lung volume was reduced at the end of a season. 'They're absolutely getting exposed to too much,' she said. 'The question is how can we gather information to better protect them in the future?' B.C. started issuing buffs with the rationale that anything is better than nothing, Dorman said. Until Ontario is able to determine exactly what the levels of exposure are, and where respite might be found, the buffs act as a placeholder that indicates to fire rangers that more change is coming. 'I'm not going to defend the buff. But I'm also not going to throw it in the garbage can,' she said. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
06-07-2025
- Climate
- Hamilton Spectator
Firefighter understaffing in Ontario is worse than previously understood, these numbers show
Halfway through one of the biggest forest fire seasons on record, new numbers show Ontario's shortage of wildland firefighters, equipment and staff is worse than previously understood. Thirteen pilot positions and seven aircraft maintenance engineer jobs remain unfilled and as a result, according to OPSEU, the public sector union that represents wildland fire fighters, nearly a third of Ontario's forest fire aviation fleet has been grounded. These shortages have left the province scrambling to fight dozens of fires burning simultaneously, including one that is now the second biggest fire in Ontario's history , and calling on other provinces for help. 'We are in an incredible crisis due to climate change, but also due to underfunding and understaffing,' said OPSEU President JP Hornick. Computer models have failed to predict a series of 'impossible' blazes — which means more places 'We've lost firefighters at the same time that the need for them has increased,' they said. 'We have increasing numbers of fires up north. They're increasing in size and intensity. But our reaction time is slowing and the fires are escaping containment more often.' Climate change is driving a long-term trend toward more and bigger forest fires and Ontario is currently facing one of its worst fire seasons on record. With three months to go, more than 375,000 hectares of forest have already burned, the fifth highest total in the last 30 years. In June, three First Nations in the north were evacuated . Last month, the Star revealed that Ontario is operating with more than 100 fewer wildland firefighters than it did 10 years ago – fielding 630 fire rangers, when it used to have 732 – leading to a drop in the number of forest fires brought under control within 24 hours, key to avoiding the massive conflagrations that consume entire communities. New staffing numbers provided by OPSEU show how that 14 per cent reduction in personnel is exacerbated on the ground, with 27 per cent fewer crews – groups of four or five fire rangers – available to dispatch to forest fires. This year, Ontario is short 53 of the 190 crews it used to operate, with only 60 out of 101 crews in the Northwest Region, west of Marathon, and 77 of 89 crews in the Northeastern Region, stretching from Marathon down to the French and Mattawa Rivers. Shortstaffing means that wildfire fighters are being worked to the bone, said Noah Freedman, vice president of OPSEU Local 703. Fire Rangers have been working flat out since early May, he said. They've just finished their third 19 day shift in a row, with only two days off between shifts, and they're getting burned out. 'The young people, the lack of experience. As fatigue builds, you have people who already don't know what they're doing making poorer and poorer decisions,' said Freedman. Natural Resources Minister Mike Harris Jr. declined an interview request and sent a statement in response to questions from the Star. 'Ontario works with provincial, federal, and international partners to ensure the necessary resources are deployed to keep communities in our province, and across North America, safe,' the statement read. 'These mutual aid partnership agreements enable the sharing of additional personnel, equipment, and aircraft.' The province has already received aid from Quebec and B.C., which have sent two waterbombers and more than 100 firefighters this season, according to data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) said nine waterbombers are available this season, though it was unclear whether this total includes the waterbombers on loan from Quebec. Harris Jr.'s office disputed the notion that the Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services branch (AFFES) is understaffed, saying there isn't an ideal number of fire rangers but a target 'range' for hiring. 'We're comfortable with the number of crews we have,' said an official in the minister's office, whom the Star agreed not to name so they could speak on background. 'We have a lot of confidence in our fire rangers.' 'It would be ideal to be fully staffed, but we're not there,' the official added. 'We'd hire more if there were more applications.' OPSEU says AFFES staff are leaving for more lucrative jobs because Ontario's waterbomber pilots are the worst paid in the country and the fire rangers are among the worst paid. Starting pay for Ontario wildland firefighters is $25.38 an hour. While Premier Doug Ford has announced the purchase of six new waterbombers, the half a billion dollars associated with their purchase and staffing has not been allocated in the budget . Due to a backlog in orders, the planes would not be delivered for nearly a decade. But Hornick said there's no use in buying new waterbombers if we can't staff the ones we already have. Fewer pilots means the ones on staff are being worked to the bone. Working shifts that last 10 days, pilots are getting sick and planes are being grounded when they're unavailable to fly, Hornick said. This was the case in June when two waterbombers were grounded due to pilot illness as blazes grew across the north. That's in addition to another waterbomber grounded due to lack of crew, bringing the total to three waterbombers, three helicopters, two Turbo Beaver bushplanes and one Twin Otter float plane grounded this season, OPSEU numbers show. This represents nine of the 28 aircraft operated by the Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services branch (AFFES) of the Ministry of Natural Resources. The loss of experience through retirement is being felt throughout the AFFES, said Hornick. The chief helicopter pilot retired two years ago and hasn't been replaced, they said. (The MNR says 'a temporary Chief Rotary Wing Pilot is in place.') Twenty of 46 aircraft mechanics have left in the last five years. Overall, there's a 40 per cent turnover at the AFFES, leading to younger and less experienced staff being promoted into positions of responsibility, Hornick added. Star reporter Marco Chown Oved learned what it takes to join the front-line of firefighters The MNR said it has brought in a number of measures to reduce turnover, including establishing 100 new year-round support jobs, reimbursing training costs and expanding standby pay and on-call benefits. At the same time, however, recruitment numbers have plummeted, Hornick said, making it harder to train up the next generation of firefighters. 'We're seeing fewer and fewer applications,' they said. 'Anecdotally, I've heard stories about literally trying to recruit people off the street to apply.'
CBC
05-07-2025
- General
- CBC
'It weighs on you': Ontario wildland firefighters being overworked due to lack of resources, union says
The union representing Ontario's wildland firefighters says they're working long hours that are contributing to "fatigue," and is calling for a funding increase to address a lack of resources. "Historically Ontario's had about 180 four-person fire crews," said Noah Freedman, a wildfire crew leader in northwestern Ontario and vice-president of Local 703 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). "That's not accounting for all the changes," he said. "Things are getting hotter, seasons are getting longer, a little drier. "While we should be looking to staff more firefighters, and have more water bombers and pilots and all of our incredible support staff that we need more of, we're just going the other direction at the moment." Freedman said the union has been unable to confirm the exact number of crews currently operating; last year, there were 143. "To be honest, it weighs on you," Freedman said. "There's a lot of fatigue in this job. And as summers go on and fires get more intense with the heat, so too does our fatigue. And then there's poor decision-making because people just don't get breaks." Freedman, for example, first deployed into the region to fight wildfires in late April. When he spoke to CBC News on Wednesday, he'd just completed his third 19-day rotation (with two days off between stints). The province is also short water bomber pilots. Freedman said three Ontario water bombers are grounded at any one time due to a lack of pilots. "We go to a fire, it's way too big for one crew or even two crews to handle," he said. "There's no water bombers available because they're either busy or we don't have enough of them, and so everyone's kind of pushing not just out of their comfort zone, but out of their traditional training. "As resources dwindle, you just kind of start getting into that mindset of like, 'OK, well, we have to figure out a way to make this work.' And the more we do that, the more we kind of push those limits, especially with the lack of experience that we have — that's when mistakes start happening." Freedman said the current budget for Ontario's wildfire program is $130 million. "It might sound like a lot of money to folks, but to be honest, in a program with this many aircraft and personnel ... that covers a wildland fire region double the size of France, $130 million just keeps the lights on," he said. "To put it in perspective, [Premier] Doug Ford spent $103 million on commercials last year. We really need to start thinking about proactively funding the program so that we can buy things before we need them, whether that's aircraft or even paying our pilots more so that we can actually fly the water bombers we own, much less buy new ones. "We really need to start thinking about proactively funding the program so that we can buy things before we need them, whether that's aircraft or even paying our pilots more so that we can actually fly the water bombers we own, much less buy new ones." Freedman said the union would like to see the budget boosted to $300 million, adding the program is usually over budget, with between $200 million and $250 million in spending. That, he said, is all reactionary spending — not proactive spending. Contacted by CBC News for comment, a Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) spokesperson said in an email that the province has increased investments in the wildland fire management program by 92 per cent since 2018. The reclassification issue Another outstanding issue is the union's push to have wildland fireflighters reclassified as firefighters, instead of resource technicians, which would allow them to receive higher wages and better benefits. Last month, MNR spokesperson Emily McLaughlin said in an email that "the reclassification work has been completed and the government has been waiting for OPSEU to sign the agreement since early April. We are prepared to implement the reclassification changes immediately." However, Freedman said the situation is more complicated. "The way to put it is that the government found a very, very clever loophole so that they can essentially say, 'Look, we're reclassifying the firefighters, we did it, It's everything they wanted.' But it's absolutely not," he said. "All they've done is rebranded our job title and given us, I think it's like a $3-an-hour raise. And people can't make a career in this job with a with a $3-an-hour raise given how many issues we have." MPP raises crew leader 'safety issue' Thunder Bay-Superior North NDP MPP Lise Vaugeois said the province has eliminated many of the full-time wildland firefighter jobs, instead hiring workers for the fire season. That, she said, means firefighters aren't able to get the experience needed to be crew leaders. "My very first conversation with a wildlife firefighter just shortly after I was elected, he said to me at the time, it takes five to seven years of experience to become a crew leader," Vaugeois said. "They don't have enough experienced crew leaders. "You'll have people, university students doing these jobs, or college students or whatever, young people, and they may have come back for two or three years," she said. "That's not enough to be a crew leader, but they are going to be pushed into those positions whether they're ready for them or not. And that's a very serious safety issue." Freedman said experience is important when fighting wildfires. "The average age [of firefighters], let's say these days, is like 21," he said. "There's a lot less critical thinking ability there. It's not that they're not brilliant young people, but there's a lot of lack of experience in life in terms of decision-making." Examples, Freedman said, include, "Not being aware of how trees fall necessarily, or which trees die from the top down and have huge chunks of material falling down around you." Vaugeois echoed calls to increase funding for the wildland firefighter program. "In some respects, it's priceless," she said. "We know that there is no limit to the budget for emergency firefighting. "So, for example, if they need to pay to bring people in from Mexico, or from Quebec or from some other place, the money will be there for that. What we're not seeing is the money invested in the actual people who are would be Ontario's firefighting team. "We're also not seeing it invested in the equipment that they need."
