Occupational Hazards in Firefighting

This assignment delves into the occupational hazards faced by firefighters, as exemplified through interviews with a retired firefighter and insights from student #1. It highlights risks associated with fire exposure, toxic fumes, particulate dust, and potential infections. The paper emphasizes the importance of understanding a patient's occupational history for advanced nursing practitioners in identifying exposure risks and formulating effective treatment plans. Additionally, it draws upon case studies and references to demonstrate the connection between occupational hazards and the development of lung diseases.

Running head: EPIDEMIOLOGY NURSING
NURSING CASE STUDY- EPIDEMIOLOGY NURSING
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Interview with retired firefighter:
I interviewed a 50 year old retired firefighter who worked for 30 years in the New
York Fire Department, with specialization in handling house fires. The job as an inherent risk
of fire and smoke related exposures (Firefighter Fatality case studies, 2017).
His job increased the chances of exposure to fire burns and sometimes toxic fumes.
He often used to be assigned to work with controlled demolition crews, to take down old and
frail buildings. During such events, he used to be exposed to particulate dust released by the
detonation. He reposted that the dust released during such operations were so bad, that the
visibility reduced to almost zero, and breathing without proper protection could lead to
serious lung injuries. Also, he added that while fighting with house fires, there would be an
increased risk of inhaling toxic fumes, and sometimes of electrocution. He was also exposed
to influenza while trying to control fire in a microbiology lab, which caused a contamination,
and infected him and few of his co-workers. Quick medical intervention was able to mitigate
the risks, and all the infected firefighters recovered completely. Currently, he is not suffering
from any respiratory disease, and is not taking any medications.
Before this job, he was working as a pizza delivery man while studying in college,
and exposure risk during that time included traffic pollution.
Implications for Advanced Nursing Practitioners:
Since the nurses in clinical are mostly on a time constraint, obtaining a complete
exposure history becomes quite a challenge. It is still very important to know of relevant
medical condition of the patient, and exposure risks at work (Rich, 2013). This can help to
identify the source and risks of exposure to certain diseases and manage other such instances
of exposures. Several studies have connected the chances of developing lung diseases with
exposure to dust and fumes and hydrocarbons (Connellan, 2017).

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Assessment Checklist
It is very important to understand the patient’s occupation, so check the risks of
occupational hazards and exposure. Also knowing the history of previous environments and
occupation can provide an insight of previous exposure risks, which might not be connected
to the present occupation. Also, knowing previous exposure risks, and health condition can
help in formulating an effective treatment program. For example discussion with my
interviewee showed that he had a constant exposure of pollutants and dusts both his previous
occupations. Hence it is important to have knowledge about occupational hazards (Tung,
Chang, Ming & Chao, 2014).
Comment on the interview done by student #1:
Interview by student #1 on a retired firefighter shows the occupational hazards like
burns, exposure to fumes and toxic chemicals or leakages of contaminants. The 50 year old
retired firefighter had a previous history to exposure to influenza virus, leaked from a
laboratory, and to particulate dust while being on a demolition crew. Prompt medical
intervention ensured mitigation of any health risks, and he is currently healthy, with no
medical issues. Considering his history to exposure to noxious gases, he still is in a risk group
of developing pulmonary disease. The interviewee also added that he was working as a pizza
delivery guy in New York before taking up the job as a firefighter, where he worked for 30
long years. The interview captures the relevant medical history and previous exposures of the
patient, and is very vital to be added in the medical records.
Comment on the interview done by Student #2:
Interview by student #2 was on his/her brother in law. He is 37 years old, healthy, and
works in a soybean processing plant. He is working there as a process technician for the past

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5 years, and the job exposes him to soybean dust frequently and to n-hexane about twice a
year (when the plant goes through a shutdown). The student explains the risks associated with
grain dust that can cause respiratory disease. This effect is quite prevalent among farmers
who are regularly exposed to the grain dust. Similarly, n-hexane that is used during the
extraction of soya oil (and also found in gasoline fumes), can cause severe peripheral
neuropathy if it enters the lungs. The interviewee confirmed that his employer is very safety
conscious, and requires his employees to wear protective equipment to prevent exposure and
injury.

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References:
Connellan, S. J. (2017). Lung diseases associated with hydrocarbon exposure. Respiratory
Medicine.
Firefighter Fatality case studies. (2017). Nfpa.org. Retrieved 18 November 2017, from
http://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Publications/NFPA-Journal/2015/July-
August-2015/Features/Firefighter-Fatalities/Firefighter-Fatality-case-studies
Rich, K. L. (2013). Philosophies and theories for advanced nursing practice. Jones & Bartlett
Publishers.
Tung, C. Y., Chang, C. C., Ming, J. L., & Chao, K. P. (2014). Occupational hazards
education for nursing staff through web-based learning. International journal of
environmental research and public health, 11(12), 13035-13046.