Thousands of British Columbians are empowered to improve their indoor air quality, thanks to an SFU-led initiative.
The Building Resilience to Emerging Airborne Threats and Heat Events (BREATHE) project evolved from technology developed during COVID-19 to improve indoor air quality. Since then, the project has grown into a province-wide climate resilience movement.
It is a leading example of SFU Climate Innovation, the university's research priority that connects researchers, community leaders, and decision-makers to help communities address the impacts of climate change.
In 2022, SFU Health Sciences professor Anne-Marie Nicol and co-op student Prem Gundarah began a community initiative to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
They had learned that simple, low-cost do-it-yourself air cleaners, built from nothing more than a box fan and a high-efficiency furnace filter, were remarkably effective at reducing airborne contaminants indoors. Because COVID-19 spreads through the air, improving indoor air quality had become an important public health strategy.
As Nicol and Gundarah began meeting with community members across the province, they noticed something else: people were less worried about the virus, and increasingly worried about wildfire smoke.
"We were connecting with some rural communities and realized early on that people were much more concerned with the changes in their environment due to wildfire smoke and climate change," says Gundarah, who is now manager, health initiatives at the BC Lung Foundation.
That realization reshaped the project. Their pandemic response evolved into an initiative that now helps communities protect themselves from wildfire smoke and extreme heat, not just airborne viruses.
BREATHE is now delivered through partnerships involving SFU, the BC Lung Foundation, municipalities, health authorities and community organizations across B.C.
Its success lies in offering an affordable, easy-to-build solution that rivals commercial air purifiers, making clean air accessible to those who need it most. The program also provides education about managing the risks associated with heat exposure, as hot weather and smoke often go hand-in-hand.
Workshops specifically target at-risk populations, including older adults, new and expecting parents, and those with respiratory conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Participants also receive information on community resources, where to find local emergency updates, and how to monitor their health during smoke and heat events.
To date, BREATHE has delivered over 200 workshops to more than 3000 participants across the province.
For Nicol, the impact has been personal as much as it has been about public health.
"We've seen firsthand how an air cleaner made out of a box fan, a furnace filter and some duct tape can give someone struggling with wildfire smoke a genuine sense of control and safety in their own home. That's what makes this work so meaningful. It's accessible, it's community-driven, and it meets people exactly where the need is greatest. Watching communities across BC embrace this solution has been the best part of this work."
Gundarah credits SFU's interdisciplinary environment for making the project possible in the first place.
"SFU has a diverse group of faculty and students working in environmental health and sociology, and the courses I took really brought that all together to create this community-driven project that connected with people."
Nicol, who has led the project since its earliest days in 2022, says the work is far from finished.
"Since we started this project in 2022, I have been amazed by how far it's grown, from a co-op project to a resource for communities across the province. It has been wonderful to see the response from people, whether that's a family building their first air cleaner or a municipality addressing bylaws for indoor environments. We're going to keep expanding into new communities, because everyone deserves to breathe easier," says Nicol.
From tragedy to citizen science
SFU's BREATHE Project has partnered with Carter's Project, founded by 100 Mile House mother Amber Vigh in memory of her nine-year-old son Carter, who died in 2023 after wildfire smoke worsened his asthma. Carter's Project funds free air quality monitors and has installed a network of outdoor PurpleAir monitors in rural B.C. communities, giving residents real-time local air quality data to guide when to use their DIY purifiers.
The City of New Westminster is an official partner and sponsor of the BREATHE Project. In the 2021 heat dome, the city suffered a disproportionate number of heat-related deaths. In response, New Westminster became the first municipality in Canada to legally mandate a maximum indoor temperature for rental housing. The bylaw requires landlords to maintain at least one room in every rental unit at an average temperature of 26C or lower between 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.
"We were really excited to hear this news and to have played a small part," says Gundarah. "Previously, when we worked with the city after the heat dome, people spoke about not having thermometers, not being able to afford air conditioners, or their landlords not allowing air conditioners in their buildings. The city responded and offered practical tools and information on where to go for help."
