Why have first responders

Retired New York firefighter and rescue swimmer Richard Roeill used to be able to hold his breath for three minutes underwater. He used to play bagpipes in a firefighter band in Merrick, Long Island. Now he gasps for air. Roeill, 59, has to sleep with an oxygen machine.

One of his lungs is severely damaged due to the days he spent in "the pit" — the pile of rubble at Ground Zero — searching for survivors after the attack on the twin towers in New York City. Twenty years later, they're helping us learn the long-term health consequences.

When the planes hit the World Trade Center on September 11, , federal law enforcement officer Raymond Gauvin followed his training without hesitation. His office, at 26 Federal Plaza, was less than a mile from the site. He arrived to help rescue people from the rubble within minutes. Twenty years later, Gauvin has suffered from bladder cancer, inflammation in his nose, acid reflux, and post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD.

All of these health impacts—along with other cancers, respiratory diseases, and mental health conditions—are especially common among the first responders and survivors who worked at the World Trade Center site, both on September 11 and in the months of clean up afterward.

Through treating and studying these patients for two decades, clinicians have identified previously unknown connections between pollution exposure and numerous health conditions. Continued research will further develop scientific understanding of these conditions and help others impacted by pollution. Like Gauvin, most first responders never anticipated the medical consequences of responding to the attacks. Those bits included particulate matter —a dangerous form of pollution often released from burning fossil fuels and in wildfires—along with asbestos fibers and more than other carcinogens.

In addition to rescues and recovery efforts on September 11, many first responders continued to work at Ground Zero for months afterward—which meant they continued to breathe in that toxic pollution. Are many people affected? Is there a massive amount of destruction? Have many people died? Is the working environment stable? Are there enough resources to properly assist and care for the survivors?

Are you or your family personally affected? All these questions and more play a role in the stress levels of responders. Below are possible signs of stress, as well as tips that may be helpful to manage stress before, during, and after a disaster. First Response This 1-hour online training course was developed to help first responders cope with the stressors involved in the opioid crisis. Creating Safe Scenes This 1. And through self-reported questionnaires, we know when every individual came.

We know who could have been exposed, and we are therefore able to ask them. We just have a lot of additional information that gives us more of a robust understanding. David Prezant,. So the aerodigestive system was first hit by this intense dust cloud as also dust that was kicked up every time they were going through the rescue efforts and the cleanup efforts.

And then we also have mental health conditions like PTSD, and we have cancers.