Mesothelioma lawyers

Monday, May 23, 2011

Firefighters and Asbestos

As late as the 1980s, asbestos was used in building materials including plaster, drywall materials, floor tiles, roofing products, wall and ceiling insulation, and electric wiring insulation. Also, asbestos blankets, gloves and aluminized asbestos suits used to be standard equipment for many firefighters. So, in addition to the daily danger of fighting fires, firefighters are at additional risk of developing an asbestos-related disease such as mesothelioma, cancer of the lining of organs such as the lungs (pleural mesothelioma) and the abdominal cavity (periotoneal mesothelioma).

During a fire, firefighters can be exposed to a variety of chemicals from construction materials, and in older buildings, especially those built before the 1980s, many of these materials contain asbestos. The hot air current at a fire can carry asbestos fibers that are released when cold water hits hot asbestos or when structural failure causes asbestos-containing components to break. Also, fire may cause non-friable asbestos materials (materials in which the asbestos fibers are not easily broken apart) to become friable (able to be reduced to smaller pieces).

If you are a firefighter or were a firefighter in the Baltimore, Maryland area, and have developed mesothelioma, please contact the mesothelioma attorneys at Parker, Dumler & Kiely LLP today to schedule a confidential, no-cost consultation.

posted by Katie at 3:18 PM


Baltimore mesothelioma lawyer, Matthew E. Kiely, helps victims of asbestos exposure and mesothelioma throughout the United States.

Copyright © 2011 Matthew E. Kiely, LLC

  • visual id image

privacy policy