Will exposure to fire smoke at the Grenfell Tower fire cause long-term adverse health effects to firefighters of the London Fire Brigade?
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN92425651 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN92425651 |
| IRAS number | 265618 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | IRAS 265618 |
- Submission date
- 31/05/2019
- Registration date
- 31/05/2019
- Last edited
- 21/05/2025
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Injury, Occupational Diseases, Poisoning
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
On the 14th June 2017 a fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London, causing the deaths of over 70 occupants and becoming the worst residential fire in the United Kingdom since the second world war. The fire spread unusually rapidly and its extinction – which took 60 hours - required the labour of over 1000 firefighters from the London Fire Brigade. Because of the scale and nature of the fire, a sizeable proportion of them were subjected to unusually high exposures to fire smoke, in many cases without standard respiratory protection; we propose to establish a cohort of the Grenfell firefighters to study a range of potential adverse effects from these exposures.
Who can participate?
Firefighters of the London Fire Brigade who attended the Grenfell fire; and a sample of those who were eligible to do so but did not.
What does the study involve?
1. Consent for personal information (name, date of birth, NHS number) to be linked, in the future, to registries of disease.
2. Participation in a baseline survey of heart and lung health.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
1. Identification of lung and heart conditions at an early stage so they can be treated and/or prevented from getting worse.
2. More generally, an understanding of the health risks of firefighting.
Where is the study run from?
Imperial College, London
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
Baseline survey August 2019 to April 2023
Long-term follow-up: 50+ years
Who is funding the study?
The COLT Foundation, a medical charity.
Who is the main contact?
Dr Johanna Feary
j.feary@imperial.ac.uk
Contact information
Scientific
National Heart & Lung Institute
Imperial College London
Emmanuel Kaye Building
1b Manresa Road
London
SW3 6LR
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 207 594 7968 |
|---|---|
| j.feary@imperial.ac.uk |
Study information
| Study design | Prospective cohort, with baseline cross-sectional survey, single centre |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Observational |
| Secondary study design | Cohort study |
| Study setting(s) | Other |
| Study type | Screening |
| Participant information sheet | Not available in web format, please use contact details to request a participant information sheet. |
| Scientific title | The Grenfell Firefighters; establishing a cohort |
| Study acronym | GFS |
| Study objectives | Will exposure to firesmoke at the Grenfell Tower fire cause long-term adverse health effects to firefighters of the London Fire Brigade? |
| Ethics approval(s) | Approved 06/12/2020, London-Fulham Research Ethics Committee (Barlow House, 3rd Floor, 4 Minshull Street, Manchester, M1 3DZ, UK; +44 (0)2071048165; Nrescommittee.london-fulham@nhs.net), ref: 19/LO/1847 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Respiratory and cardiovascular disease; cancers after exposure to fire smoke |
| Intervention | No intervention. At the baseline survey we will make a series of non-invasive, physiological measurements of lung (spirometry and impulse oscillometry before and after a bronchodilator) and cardiac function (arterial stiffness) in participating firefighters. We will, at this point, invite them to enrol in a long-term study of their cardio-respiratory health and of cancer incidence; largely though data linkage. |
| Intervention type | Other |
| Primary outcome measure | Airway resistance at 5Hz is measured using impulse oscillometry at baseline survey. |
| Secondary outcome measures | 1. Airway resistance and airflow are measured through impulse oscillometry and spirometry at baseline. 2. Arterial stiffness measured by Vicorder at baseline. 3. Respiratory symptoms are measured using a questionnaire at baseline. 4. The incidence of cardiorespiratory disease is measured using data linkage to national and other registers at any point in the future 5. The incidence of cancers is measured using data linkage to national and other registers at any point in the future. |
| Overall study start date | 01/03/2019 |
| Completion date | 30/04/2023 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Healthy volunteer |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | Up to 1100 eligible participants |
| Total final enrolment | 687 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Firefighters who directly attended the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 2. A sample from those who were eligible to attend the fire but did not do so because of annual leave etc. |
| Key exclusion criteria | N/A |
| Date of first enrolment | 27/02/2020 |
| Date of final enrolment | 19/04/2023 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- England
- United Kingdom
Study participating centre
London
SW3 6NP
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
University/education
Room 221 Level 2, Medical School Building
Norfolk Place
London
W2 1PG
England
United Kingdom
| Phone | 020 7594 9832 |
|---|---|
| cheuk-fung.wong@imperial.ac.uk | |
| Website | https://www.imperial.ac.uk/ |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/041kmwe10 |
Funders
Funder type
Charity
Private sector organisation / Trusts, charities, foundations (both public and private)
- Alternative name(s)
- The Colt Foundation
- Location
- United Kingdom
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 01/04/2025 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Not expected to be made available |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Priorities in selecting forums for publication will be given to peer-reviewed journals as well as presentations and publications of abstracts at national and international scientific meetings. The PIs will work with the study statistician to identify potential scientific papers related to both the study’s primary and secondary aims, establish writing teams and manuscript authorship, and prioritize manuscript development. The PIs will write the scientific manuscripts related to the study’s primary aims as lead/senior author(s). The lead author will be responsible for assuring production of the draft of the paper within three months of availability of the data. This time period should allow for review and comment of the draft by all co-authors and input from other members of the study team. For protocols that have secondary research aims, investigators other than the PIs may be assigned lead authorship of manuscripts. Investigators who accept lead authorship of manuscripts related to secondary aims will be expected to produce a manuscript of publishable quality following the principles outlined above. Abstracts reporting the preliminary or highlighted results of the research will not negate the necessity of preparing a full manuscript for publication. All papers and abstracts will be submitted to LFB for their (timely) comment prior to submission; Imperial College retains the right to publish material without requiring the permission of LFB or any other external parties. Material – written or audiovisual – that is intended for non-scientific audiences will be prepared by the PIs in conjunction with the study statistician and in consultation with LFB and, if deemed appropriate by them, the FBU; all such material must be agreed by all parties before its use. No publications/presentations/press releases etc arising from this research will be produced in a manner that could identify any individual participant(s). |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not expected to be made available: consent has been obtained to share anonymised data with relevant collaborators for other studies relating to firefighter health; however, consent has not been obtained for participant data to be made publicly available. |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protocol file | version v1 | 31/05/2019 | 31/05/2019 | No | No |
| HRA research summary | 28/06/2023 | No | No | ||
| Other publications | Cancer biomarkers | 07/05/2025 | 21/05/2025 | Yes | No |
Additional files
- ISRCTN92425651_PROTOCOL_v1_31May19.pdf
- Uploaded 31/05/2019
Editorial Notes
21/05/2025: Publication reference added.
04/09/2024: The intention to publish date was changed from 31/08/2024 to 01/04/2025.
31/10/2023: The intention to publish date was changed from 31/08/2023 to 31/08/2024.
17/05/2023: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. The total final enrolment was changed from 680 to 687.
2. The intention to publish date was changed from 31/12/2021 to 31/08/2023.
3. The recruitment end date has been changed from 31/12/2021 to 19/04/2023.
4. The individual participant data (IPD) sharing statement and summary were added.
06/02/2023: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. The overall end date was changed from 31/12/2022 to 30/04/2023.
2. The intention to publish date was added.
3. The plain English summary was updated to reflect these changes.
4. The contact was updated.
5. The total final enrolment was added.
10/01/2022: The overall trial end date has been changed from 28/02/2022 to 31/12/2022.
08/04/2020: The ethics approval was added.
07/04/2020: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. The acronym was added.
2. The overall end date was changed from 01/03/2020 to 28/02/2022.
3. The recruitment start date was changed from 01/09/2019 to 27/02/2020.
4. The recruitment end date was changed from 31/07/2020 to 31/12/2021.
09/07/2019: The recruitment start date was changed from 01/08/2019 to 01/09/2019.
31/05/2019: Uploaded protocol (not peer reviewed).
31/05/2019: Trial's existence confirmed by the Colt Foundation.
