the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Sep 15, 2025
The U.S. Forest Service bans the use of masks during arduous work, such as digging trenches to contain wildfires, although it is well known that these masks reduce the hazardous effects of toxic fumes. A half-century ago, after the requirement for urban firefighters to wear masks went into effect, cancer rates among them drastically decreased.
Today, about 40,000 workers fight wildfires. About two-thirds of these firefighters work for state and federal agencies. Inmates and other workers fight wildfires under private contractors. The new recruits, who sometimes join right out of high school, are paid a pittance. Many start with just five days of training.
Getting exposed to toxic fumes from wildfires is extremely hazardous. Many firefighters who responded to wildfires in the Los Angeles area last January developed instant migraines, coughed up black goo, dropped to their knees, vomited, and got dizzy.
Repeated and/or prolonged exposure to wildfires causes chronic health consequences at a young age. Some firefighters struggle to walk up a flight of stairs after seasons spent in smoke, as the New York Times reported. One firefighter, Brian Wangerin, said, “I’ve been on eight of the 10 biggest fires in California history. Now I can’t even push a shopping cart without having chest pain. I can’t hold my kids.”
Others have become permanently disabled after breathing in concentrated plumes of ash, fungus, or poison oak. These young firefighters are getting cancer in their 20s, developing heart disease in their 30s, and waiting for lung transplants in their 40s.
A week ago, after the New York Times recently exposed the Forest Service’s ban on using masks, the agency posted a new guidance admitting for the first time that masks can protect firefighters against harmful particles in wildfire smoke. But they recommend masks only for light duty, not during direct wildfire fighting.
One retired Forest Service manager said, “We need to be honest about what people are signing up for. We’re lying to our people, and we’re lying to the public.”
The Forest Service lies and operates like any capitalist business: treating its firefighters like a disposable workforce.