More than a quarter of firefighters exposed to toxic smoke during the Grenfell Tower fire have had long-term health disorders, a study shows.
Ministers are facing demands for an urgent review after data from 524 firefighters who risked their lives at the 2017 disaster showed that over the first three years, 136 reported life-changing conditions. These included 11 cases of cancer, 64 respiratory diseases, 22 neurological disorders and 66 digestive illnesses.
Prof Anna Stec, a world-leading expert in toxicity who co-authored the report, found that most of the firefighters disclosing health disorders had not worn respiratory protection at all times because of urgency at the disaster, which killed 72 people.
Up to 2020, the rate of digestive and respiratory disease among the firefighters who were exposed to smoke during the fire was three times as high as among those who were not, the report found.
Due to be published on Friday, the report said that establishing a Grenfell firefighters’ health-screening programme similar to one established for those who served in New York after the 9/11 atrocities could cut the number of premature deaths.
The Home Office has admitted the report’s findings are “concerning”.
A programme of “rapid and comprehensive health screening, followed by prioritised treatment, similar to that used for the WTC [World Trade Center] firefighters would be very likely to reduce the incidence of premature deaths among these firefighters”, the report said.
Matt Wrack, the Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said the study was “powerful evidence that firefighters were exposed to extreme levels of toxic smoke at the tower, many without any respiratory protection”.
“We must learn from the aftermath of 9/11, which made it clear that enhanced health testing is vital to protecting the lives of firefighters and residents.”
The blaze at the 23-storey tower block in west London on 14 June 2017 was the worst in a UK residential building since the second world war. Seventy people died at the scene and two people died later in hospital. More than 70 were injured.
Combustible cladding spread the fire from the exterior to most of the flats, and produced large quantities of toxic gases.
The report in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, titled Grenfell Tower Fire: Toxic Effluents and Assessment of Firefighters’ Health Impacts, examined the health over three years of 524 of the 628 Grenfell firefighters who attended the first 20 hours of the blaze.
Of the 136 firefighters who reported health disorders, most had not worn any respiratory protection at some point, the report said.
“Among the group exposed to smoke, there seems to be a high proportion of digestive diseases among all those reporting any immediate health symptoms. In contrast, among those not reporting exposure to smoke, the incidence of the most common longer-term health outcomes is significantly lower, typically a third of the incidence of those exposed to smoke,” the report said.
The report said there was expected to be a much higher number of cancer diagnoses emerging from the Grenfell firefighters over the next 10 years.
“Considering that certain cancers have a long latency period, it is anticipated that the number of health disorders in GT firefighters may increase over the next decade,” the report said.
Stec, a professor of fire chemistry and toxicity at the University of Central Lancashire who was an expert witness to the Grenfell Tower inquiry, said Grenfell firefighters experienced “significantly higher rates of gastrointestinal, respiratory, neurological and other diseases” compared with those who worked outside the building.
“Although it is not possible to definitively trace any disease back to a single incident, it is alarming that a high proportion of the firefighters who were exposed to very high smoke levels that night are now falling ill,” she said.
Previous research has found that toxic contaminants in fires are directly linked to increased rates of cancer and mental health problems among firefighters.
No comparable group of firefighters has been studied, making it “challenging” to assess the extent to which identified health outcomes are solely attributable to toxicants from the fire, the report said.
Jamie McDonnell, 54, a father and grandfather from West Sussex, is among the former Grenfell firefighters who have since contracted incurable cancer.
A firefighter for 30 years, he said that he and others deserved to know whether their cancers were caused by what they endured on that day.
He said: “We know there are firefighters like me who worked in really difficult conditions with poor equipment on that day who now have cancer. It is hard to pinpoint whether we can blame what happened at Grenfell or put it down to other days on the job.
“But these figures have to make you think there could be a connection. The government must monitor the health of firefighters who worked at Grenfell and get to the bottom of it.”
McDonnell was forced to retire after being diagnosed with neck cancer in 2019. On the day of the Grenfell fire in June 2017, he was part of blue watch, the second phase of firefighters brought into the tower from 10am to help look for survivors in the smouldering wreckage.
He spent eight hours sifting through debris as high as the 13th floor of the tower, often with poor visibility as acrid smoke continued to fill the shell of the building. Because of a lack of standard breathing apparatus, he and colleagues were forced to wear dust masks instead.
McDonnell was diagnosed with neck cancer in 2019 and was told he had a 25% chance of living for five years. He is campaigning to force London fire brigade to place washing machines in all fire stations so that firefighters are no longer forced to take uniforms covered in toxic debris home.
“It has been eight years since the fire and firefighters are still taking their workwear home and contaminating their families as well,” he said.
Firefighters who attended Grenfell reported similar health symptoms to the firefighters who responded to the collapse of the World Trade Center.
After 9/11, a lifelong health monitoring programme was set up in the US for emergency responders and the local community, which has saved lives after it enabled early diagnosis and treatment of cancers and other diseases.
No established regular health monitoring programme has been implemented for cancers and other diseases among the firefighters and residents affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.
The report calls for further studies to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the health risks.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The health and safety of firefighters is of paramount importance and emerging research indicating that they may be exposed to contaminants is concerning.
“Fire and rescue authorities, as the employers, must take seriously their responsibility for the health and wellbeing of firefighters and take appropriate action to protect their workforce.”
