The increased risk of serious bushfires in Australia and its impact on the health of first responders

A Monash University-led study of emergency responder workers’ compensation claims due to exposure to extreme bushfires (2009 Black Saturday bushfires and 2019 and 2020 Black Summer bushfires) found associations with mental health disorders and injuries in the head.

With a changing climate, Australia is experiencing more frequent and intense bushfires and, combined with an aging population, the study highlights the need for periodic health monitoring of older workers, access to early treatment and ongoing support to mental health conditions.

The study by the Monash Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, led by Associate Professor Janneke Berecki-Gisolf and Professor Karen Walker-Bone, is published in the journal, Scientific Reports. It looked at compensation claims across Victoria from emergency responders from January 2005 to April 2023.

The research team specifically looked at compensation claims during extreme bushfire periods in 2009 and 2019/20 compared to all other claims, adjusting for seasonality (summer).

Of the 44,164 complaints included:

• 2.5% (1,105) recorded injury/illness onset dates from extreme wildfire periods
• 26.4% (11,642) occurred in the summer months
• More than half of the complaints were made by the police (52.4%), followed by ambulances/paramedics (27.2%) and firefighters (20.5%).
• Extreme bushfire season claims have been linked to older workers.

Mental disorders, intracranial injuries and infections/parasites were more associated with extreme complaints during the bushfire period, compared to wounds, which were used as controls.

The Black Saturday bushfires, which occurred in February 2009 in Victoria, Australia, claimed 173 lives, devastated countless homes and inflicted significant environmental damage.

The subsequent Black Summer bushfires in Australia, which occurred more than a decade later, from November 2019 to February 2020, were an unparalleled series of bushfires with far-reaching consequences, including widespread destruction of the natural and built environment, loss of human and animal life, and ecological repercussions. Nine firefighters died in the Black Summer bushfires.

The first line response to bushfires is managed by emergency teams, including firefighters (paid and volunteer firefighters and/or seasonal firefighters), defense personnel, paramedics and ambulance officers, police officers and State Emergency Service volunteers (SES).

The occupational exposure of these first responders to wildfires has the potential to negatively affect their physical and psychological health immediately and in the long term, including psychological impacts (post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicide), respiratory problems (decline in lung function , airway obstruction). dysfunction, increased airway inflammation, lung cancer mortality), cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, dyslipidemia, arrhythmia, cardiovascular disease mortality), acute physical injuries, as well as dehydration.

This is the first study to analyze associations between periods of extreme wildfire events and worker compensation claims for injuries/illness made by emergency responders. The report authors recommend:

• Other research, including the use of portable monitors to monitor heat exposure, air pollution, etc.
• Focus on workers’ mental health before the event; improve security strategies during the event; and improved post-event psychological care immediately after the event and long-term, including a telehealth option
• A separate focus on older workers who may have chronic health problems or have been exposed to multiple extreme wildfires – including pre-deployment medical assessment and regular physical and mental health surveillance in people over 55