The federal government will now allow its firefighters to mask up — upending a decades-long policy that had left them exposed to toxic flurries of illness-inducing wildfire smoke.

The U.S. Forest Service this week issued new guidance for wildland firefighters regarding the voluntary use of N95 respirators via the National Interagency Fire Center’s health program, as first reported by The New York Times.

The guidance promotes the “use of a properly-fitted N95 respirator on a clean-shaven face with a successful fit test,” explaining that doing so “will remove at least 95 percent of airborne particles,” including those in smoke. Firefighters must only use masks approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, per the instructions.

“N95 masks are available, should a fi

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