# Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Exposures, Effects, and Interventions: A Collaborative Research-to-Action Partnership with Firefighters

> **NIH ES R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA · 2026 · $754,855

## Abstract

Climate change is increasing the risk of wildfires which frequently extend into the wildland-urban interface (WUI).
WUI fires burn a mixture of vegetation, structures and vehicles and there is a marked research gap regarding
population exposures and health effects. Woodsmoke contains a toxic mixture of known and suspect
carcinogens including but not limited to benzene, aldehydes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
However, wildland fire exposure monitoring has generally been limited to particulates for the general public and
PAHs for firefighters. Firefighters, a high exposure group, are requesting participatory research to measure WUI
fire exposures and effects and identify effective interventions. Silicone wrist bands can measure exposure
beyond PAHs, and urine metabolomics can identify both exposures and effects. While cancer or other diseases
caused by firefighting exposures can take many years to develop, metabolomic and epigenetic (microRNA and
DNA methylation) endpoints can serve as sub-clinical biomarkers of toxicity. Interventions of firefighter interest
include rapid provision of exposure data, improved personal protective equipment (PPE), more rapid dermal
decontamination, and administrative controls. We hypothesize that: a) use of silicone wristbands and targeted
urinary analyses (hydroxylated PAHs) will identify high-exposure settings and activities, and that untargeted
metabolomics will reveal novel environmental compounds of concern; b) the urine metabolome and microRNAs
will change acutely with exposures and cumulative exposures will be associated with long-term DNA methylation
changes in firefighters; and c) interventions chosen by firefighters will significantly reduce exposures. We will
test these hypotheses through evaluating firefighter exposures during WUI responses, measuring toxic effects,
and evaluating interventions to reduce exposures. Our fire service research champions have enrolled Los
Angeles County and Orange County firefigh

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11301023
- **Project number:** 5R01ES035965-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
- **Principal Investigator:** Jefferey L. Burgess
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ES
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $754,855
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2024-02-22T00:00:00 → 2028-12-31T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11301023

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11301023, Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Exposures, Effects, and Interventions: A Collaborative Research-to-Action Partnership with Firefighters (5R01ES035965-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-07-02 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11301023. Licensed CC0.

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