BREAKING NEWS: New research from the University of Arizona reveals alarming health risks for firefighters who battled catastrophic urban fires in Los Angeles in January 2025. The study confirms significant alterations in blood proteins that may heighten their risk of diseases, including cancer.
These fires, which ravaged over 23,000 acres and forced more than 100,000 evacuations, prompted researchers to investigate the long-term physiological impacts on those who fought the flames. The findings, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, indicate that firefighters experienced 60 changes in their serum proteome—a crucial group of blood proteins affecting various bodily systems, including the immune response and cancer signaling pathways.
First author Melissa Furlong, an assistant professor at the Zuckerman College of Public Health, stated, “We wanted to get a big picture of what the health effects were for the firefighters responding to wildland-urban interface fires.” Furlong emphasized the troubling implications of these protein changes, which suggest a broad spectrum of possible health risks stemming from exposure to such substantial urban conflagrations.
The research involved blood samples from 42 firefighters enrolled in the Fire Fighter Cancer Cohort Study, taken both before and after their service during the fires. The team discovered changes related to cancer growth, metabolic stress, and cellular barrier formation.
Dr. Jeff Burgess, senior author and a long-time collaborator with firefighters on health and safety research, noted, “This publication helps answer critical questions from firefighters about whether their exposures put them at risk for future illnesses.” Burgess has been investigating cancer risk and prevention among firefighters since 2015 and has contributed to the recognition of firefighting as a carcinogenic profession.
The study’s urgent findings underscore the need for continued research to better understand the long-term health effects of firefighting. “We know that firefighters are at increased risk for various cancers,” Furlong added. “We hope to identify specific proteins that respond to firefighting exposure over time, which may guide preventive strategies.”
As the firefighting community grapples with these startling revelations, researchers are embarking on long-term follow-up studies to further explore the health implications for firefighters. The urgency of this research highlights the critical need to protect those who risk their lives to save others.
Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story as researchers work to uncover the full impact of these findings on firefighter health and safety.
