Each day, nine-year-old Roland Latimer monitors the air quality in Gold River, B.C., before going outside. Dealing with asthma, he carries inhalers for assistance with breathing.
During periods of poor air quality, especially when wildfire smoke is present, he is confined indoors.
While wildfire smoke poses a health risk to everyone, for Roland, it can potentially trigger a severe asthma episode. Despite the necessity for his safety, being confined indoors is frustrating for him.
He expressed, “It feels like I’m stuck,” to What on Earth host Laura Lynch.
Access to local safety updates, including four air quality sensors now available in the small Vancouver Island town where he resides, is part of the legacy of a nine-year-old B.C. boy who succumbed to an asthma attack during the 2023 wildfire season.
Carter Vigh, also nine, attended a birthday celebration at a water park on a day when his parents mentioned they did not detect any smoke odor. The Air Quality Health Index reading was deemed “low risk,” based on air quality sensors approximately 100 kilometers away from their residence in 100 Mile House, B.C.
His mother, Amber Vigh, aims to transform that tragedy into an opportunity to aid others. Consequently, the family has collaborated with the B.C. Lung Foundation to establish Carter’s Project.
“We must invest time in understanding air quality and its significance,” she stated.
James and Amber Vigh mentioned that they took their nine-year-old son, Carter, and his asthma seriously throughout his life. Carter passed away in hospital on Tuesday.
Educating on Air Quality
Wildfire smoke can be harmful, even if it is not visible or odorous.
It comprises