Striking new data from the Saint Lucia Fire Service has laid bare a deeply concerning gender gap in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) emergencies, prompting the service’s top official to launch a public appeal urging men across the nation to quit smoking and take the life-altering lung condition seriously. In an extraordinary revelation, Chief Fire Officer Ditney Downes confirmed that every single COPD-related respiratory emergency the fire service has responded to so far has involved a male patient.
In a public address, Downes explained that rising respiratory emergencies – most triggered by COPD – are placing unsustainable extra strain on already stretched emergency medical services, with the fire service stepping in to assist overstretched ambulance teams. Breaking down 2025 call data, Downes shared that the service responded to 13,170 ambulance assistance requests that year, conducting 13,637 on-site patient assessments across all call types. These included 6,925 general medical calls, 3,994 inter-facility hospital transfers, 2,245 trauma cases, 1,050 motor vehicle incidents, and 843 dedicated respiratory emergencies. Of all those respiratory calls, a staggering 95% were directly linked to COPD.
“I want to plead to our young men specifically, because the statistics show that 100 percent of these cases are males,” Downes said. “So apparently, females are doing something our males are not doing. I want to make it clear: COPD is not a joke. It is an extremely serious disease.”
This alarming all-male trend has persisted into 2026. By the mid-point of the year, the Saint Lucia Fire Service had already answered 6,762 ambulance assistance calls, 572 of which were directly tied to COPD emergency episodes. At the current projection rate, the total number of ambulance calls the service will handle in 2026 is on track to surpass the 2025 total, marking a second consecutive year of rising demand for emergency support related to the preventable lung condition.
Downes’ public call to action aligns with longstanding warnings from global and local public health officials, who have repeatedly identified cigarette smoking as the single leading modifiable risk factor for developing COPD. COPD is a progressive, irreversible lung condition that causes persistent shortness of breath, chronic coughing, and steady declines in lung function. Severe flare-ups often require immediate emergency medical intervention, and advanced cases can lead to permanent disability or death.
Beyond raising awareness of the gender gap, the Saint Lucia Fire Service is urging all men, particularly younger adults who may be in the early stages of lung damage, to take three critical steps to reduce their COPD risk: quit smoking immediately, schedule a prompt evaluation with a healthcare provider if they experience ongoing breathing difficulties, and adopt consistent healthy lifestyle choices to protect long-term lung health.