Chronic Effect of Fire Fighting on Pulmonary Function

Abstract

Pulmonary function was studied in 1430 Boston fire fighters during the period 1970 to 1972. Questionnaire information on exposures, current respiratory symptoms and smoking habits was also collected. Forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in one second were measured on two occasions. The rate of loss in pulmonary function observed for the entire population was more than twice the expected rate (77 vs. 30 ml for forced vital capacity). These changes were significantly related to frequency of fire exposure (p < 0.01) and could not be explained by differences in age, smoking habits or ethnic background. This study strongly suggests that occupational exposures are contributing to chronic impairment of pulmonary function in fire fighters. (N Engl J Med 291:1320–1322, 1974)