Firefighters face a higher risk of skin cancer – nano fabrics with tiny, rough fibers can help keep them safer

Smoke and ash contain chemicals that can harm wildland firefighters, and not just when they breathe it in. White River National Forest/BLM via Flickr

Wildland firefighters are exposed to a mix of harmful chemicals in the smoke they breathe and the ash and soot that gets on their clothing. Over long assignments fighting fires that can last for days to weeks, those chemicals can be absorbed by their skin.

Some of those chemicals are carcinogens. A 2025 study found that firefighters in general had a 58% higher risk of dying from skin cancer than non-firefighters and a 40% higher risk of dying from kidney cancer. Other research specifically on wildland firefighters also found elevated risks of dying from skin cancer.