Wildfire Smoke Response
Wildfire smoke is not just haze. The fine particles (PM2.5) go deep into the lungs and into the blood — the state links them to heart disease, lung disease, and worse. Washington and Oregon both require this training before your crew works in smoke. As foreman, you run the response.
Your duties as foreman
- Check the level — read the smoke number (PM2.5) every smoky morning
- Tell the crew — the level today and what it means for the work
- Masks — have N95s on the truck; hand them out as the smoke climbs
- Clean air — move anyone with symptoms into the truck cab or indoors
- Know the signs — and get medical help fast for the serious ones
- Escalate — at hazardous levels, stop and call the office
What Smoke Does to the Body
Smoke hits the lungs and the heart. Know the common signs, and know the ones that mean get help now.
- Lungs — coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, sore throat, runny nose, sinus pain, phlegm, an asthma attack
- Eyes & head — scratchy or irritated eyes, headache, feeling wiped out
- Heart — chest pain, a fast or irregular heartbeat, feeling weak, lightheaded, faint, or dizzy
⚠ Common irritation — take action
🚨 Serious — get medical help / CALL 911
How We Measure It
We go by PM2.5 — the smoke particle number, measured in µg/m³. That's the number the rule is written in. AQI is a rough translation of it, and the AQI scale changed in 2024, so the µg/m³ number is what we trust.
Check it every smoky morning
Before the crew rolls, pull the current smoke level for the job's area — the AirNow app or the WA Smoke Blog, or ask the office. Your phone's AirNow shows the µg/m³ and the AQI; use the µg/m³ number against the table in this training. If you're not sure, ask the office and mask up sooner.
Tell the crew — two ways
At the morning huddle, say today's level and what it means. And the crew can always ask you for the current number during the day — that two-way communication is part of the rule. If it gets worse mid-shift, you tell them and step the response up.
The Action Levels
By PM2.5 (µg/m³). As the smoke climbs, the response steps up.
| Smoke (PM2.5) | What you do |
|---|---|
| Under 20.5 | Normal work. Keep an eye on it — smoke moves fast. |
| 20.5+ | This rule is ON. Tell the crew the level. N95s available to anyone who wants one. Ease heavy exertion, use cab breaks. |
| 35.5+ | N95 masks available for anyone, no questions. Cut smoke exposure where you can — cleaner-air tasks, more cab breaks. |
| 250.5+ | Hand an N95 to everyone. Move anyone with symptoms into clean air (cab A/C or indoors). |
| 500.4+ | STOP and call the office. Masks become required with a formal program (fit test + medical check) — never a field call. |
Masks (N95)
A real NIOSH N95 filters the fine smoke particles. A surgical mask, a bandana, or a dust mask does not — don't let those stand in for it.
Wear it right or it doesn't work
Both straps on — one high on the back of the head, one at the neck. Pinch the metal strip over the nose. It has to seal to the face; facial hair breaks the seal. If someone can't get a seal, that's a talk with the office, not a shrug.
Voluntary vs. required — big difference
At the lower levels, N95s are offered — the crew wears one if they want. At the top level (hazardous smoke), masks become required, and that flips on a formal respiratory protection program: fit testing and a medical evaluation for each person. That's an office-run process. If you're at that level, you stop and call — you don't improvise mandatory respirators in the field.
Cut the Exposure
A mask is the last line, not the first. Before that, reduce how much smoke the crew breathes — the rule wants exposure controls "where feasible."
Ways to knock it down
- Cleaner-air work — shift to indoor, shop, or lower-exertion tasks when the air is bad
- Ease the pace — heavy breathing pulls more smoke in; slow the hard labor, add breaks
- Cab is clean air — a truck cab with the A/C on recirculate is a clean-air spot; use it for breaks
- Reschedule if you can — dusty or heavy work can often wait for the smoke to lift; check with the office
Speak Up — No Reprisal
The moment someone feels it — cough, tight chest, dizzy, pounding heart — they say something. To their buddy, to you, or to the office.
The law is clear in both states: a worker has the right to get medical attention without fear of reprisal, and nobody is written up or loses hours for reporting smoke symptoms or asking for a mask. Say that out loud to the crew — they need to hear it from you.
What gets people hurt is hiding it to look tough. The heart and stroke signs especially — those don't wait. If you see it in someone else, say it anyway; you don't need to be sure.
Run It & Log It
Same as heat — if it isn't written down, in an inspection it didn't happen.
Your smoke-day checklist
- Check & note the level — the morning PM2.5 for the job, on the job ticket
- Tell the crew — level + plan at the huddle; keep them updated if it climbs
- Masks out — N95s available, handed out at the higher levels; note it
- Symptoms — anyone affected goes to clean air; note who and what you did
- Escalate — hazardous level or an OR required-mask level → call the office before continuing
Quick Check
Six questions. Get 5 right (80%) to sign off. You can retry as many times as you need.
Sign & Complete
You're signing this as yourself — you're signed in, so this is your legal record of training.