By David Bruce

Most research on wildland firefighter health has focused on physical health risks related to things like smoke exposure and injury. Very little research has examined the potential psychological impacts of wildland fire service work, whether that be from large scale disasters or from routine fire seasons.

A review of the mental health risks for wildland firefighters by Canadian researchers identified only 13 relevant studies. In contrast, there are hundreds of studies of mental health risk in structural firefighters.

One of the authors, research associate Nicole White from the University of Northern British Columbia, told Wildfire Today that despite a growing need to support these personnel as fire seasons continue to worsen little study had been done on unique risk factors such as the seasonal nature of employment, the length and intensity of shifts and geographical isolation.

“The research that has been done so far mostly examines the psychological impacts of responding to a wildfire disaster, rather than focusing on wildland firefighters. More than half of the available data comes from structural firefighters and other rescue workers deployed to these events,” she said.

Wildfire, however, is a natural, seasonal occurrence, and few wildfires are disaster-scale events. There are also a number of unique aspects of wildland fire service work that may be important for understanding health risks, both mental and physical.

“We wanted to revisit the work that has been done in wildland firefighters and integrate findings from research with structural firefighters and other groups at high risk of occupational stress injury to provide a bigger picture and directions for future research.

“Our review found that trauma-related symptoms appear to be high in some study samples, but there is not enough research to make a general conclusion about mental health risk, because the work just isn’t there yet.”

The authors noted that mental and physical health were often studied separately when it comes to wildfire exposure.

“But for firefighters, psychological stress can also arise from concerns about the potential long-term physical health impacts of exposure to smoke and other environmental contaminants, or from sustaining chronic physical injury.”

Some mental health symptoms can be hard to distinguish from physical symptoms. For example, shortness of breath can arise from both smoke exposure and anxiety. Similarly, many symptoms of depression and PTSD can overlap with the physical consequences of prolonged sleep deprivation firefighters face when fire conditions are extreme.

“For firefighters, understanding physical health risks and symptoms is part of understanding the psychological impacts of this work.”

…more than half of firefighters surveyed in one study identified events other than fire suppression – for example, road accidents – as the most stressful aspects of their work.

The researchers stress the importance of recognizing that wildland firefighters are highly resilient. They work in extremely demanding physical conditions where quick, critical decisions are needed. They have to be able to adapt to rapidly changing levels of risk, and they’re regularly dealing with intense and dangerous situations that most people never experience.

“That’s a big part of why it’s so hard to use findings from the wealth of research in the general population to understand firefighters’ mental health risks.

“For example, we might expect that frontline exposure to fire events is the most stressful part of the job. However, more than half of firefighters surveyed in one study identified events other than fire suppression – for example, road accidents – as the most stressful aspects of their work.”

 “We urgently need research on the psychological impacts of wildland fire service work that considers the unique nature of the job, and the unique strength and resilience of our wildland firefighters.”

And in a final swing at the Fourth Estate, they note:

“Urgent focus is also needed on the potential psychological impacts of sensationalist media coverage of wildland fire events as fire seasons become more severe.”

Read the full article with links to related mental health research in the International Journal of Wildland Fire, a publication of the International Association of Wildland Fire.