Combination of facility smoke and stagnant weather puts some Coloradans at greater respiratory risk
For much of the morning on Tuesday, the smell of smoke permeated Denver. A combination of weather and a fire that ignited at an Englewood waste management facility were responsible for the smell.
Denver Fire Department Public Information Officer Greg Pixley told CBS4's Mekialaya White the deep-seated fire was burning in hundreds of thousands of pounds of trash. Crews worked for hours to drown the fire, and several factors, including power lines, led to a long firefight. It was eventually extinguished.
Doctor Nick Tsipsis, Medical Director of ER at Swedish Medical Center, says incidents like this can profoundly affect your health, especially if you have pre-existing conditions.
"Earlier today, there was just so little wind that the smoke hovered and stayed where it was," said Tsipsis. "Any issue that we're having with air quality, we always care about those patients who particularly are most at risk. The ones with respiratory disease, asthma, COPD, emphysema because those folks' lungs are particularly sensitive to pollutants in the air."
He urges vigilance and keeping an eye on if you're feeling anything out of the ordinary.
"Increasing cough or shortness of breath or tightness in the chest, that could be a sign that there's some inflammation," said Tsipsis.
If the smoke is making you feel this way, don't hesitate to check in with your doctor.
"We always worry about the cumulative effect to the lungs. Times like these, we ask that they are really diligent and reach out to their healthcare team if they have any concerns about changes in their breathing."
