The effects of climate change can be observed globally through an increase in the number and scale of natural disasters. In Austria, forest fires are occurring more frequently as a result of global warming, which have far-reaching negative consequences for flora and fauna as well as economic consequences. This thesis was written as part of the IGNITE project, which aims to improve the assessment of the risk of forest fires in Austria. As part of the project, a large-scale forest fire experiment was carried out and the resulting health risks of forest fires on humas were analyzed. To this end, comprehensive measurements of gases (CO, CO2, NO, NO2) and particulate matter, which are potentially hazardous to the respiratory tract, were taken. These data were compared with the respective permissible limit values to determine the risk to humans. In addition, the influencing factors that play an essential role in a forest fire and its spread were determined, as these in turn have a direct impact on the measured values of gases and suspended particulate matter. The analysis of the measurement results shows that the health limits for carbon monoxide in particular were far exceeded in the immediate vicinity of the fire. The measured values for particulate matter concentrations in the vicinity of the fire also exceeded the permissible threshold values. Over the entire course of the fire, it was observed that the measured pollutant concentration decreased with the distance from the fire due to the dilution of the pollutants with the ambient air and therefore no limit values were exceeded.