Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the inflammatory response to a 12-hour wildfire suppression shift, in firefighters attending the "Black Saturday" natural disaster. Methods: Thirty-eight male volunteer firefighters provided venous blood samples before and after a 12-hour firefighting shift. Pre- to post-shift changes in pro-inflammatory (Interleukin IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12P70, granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor GM-CSF, tumor necrosis factor-alpha TNF-α, interferon-gamma IFNγ), and anti-inflammatory (IL-4, IL-5, IL-7, IL-10, IL-13) cytokines were measured with paired sample t tests, or Wilcoxon t tests for non-parametric data. Results: Interleukin (IL)-6 (P = 0.003) and IL-8 (P = 0.017) were significantly increased following 12-hours of wildfire suppression. There was also a significant decrease in IL-10 (P = 0.021). Conclusions: The observed acute inflammatory response may have resulted from multiple stressors including physical exertion, thermal strain, or smoke inhalation experienced during the shift, and may be a necessary response for the body to adapt to stressor exposure.
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