Firefighters across Canada focusing more on mental health as wildfire seasons worsen

Fighting wildfires has always been a physically demanding job, but attention is increasingly being paid in Canada to its psychological toll.

Wildland firefighters and professionals who work with them say the job has become mentally tougher as fires have become larger and more complex, increasingly getting close to or reaching areas where people live.

"I hear it over and over again that these are unprecedented conditions, and yet every every other week there's new unprecedented conditions," said Steve Lemon, an incident commander with BC Wildfire Service.

Lemon, who said he has lost five colleagues to suicide, is also a safety and well-being officer trying to accelerate a cultural shift toward more discussions about mental health within firefighting.

Colleen Kamps, a psychotherapist who works with the non-profit Tema Foundation, has been counselling wildland firefighters working in Nova Scotia this year.

The organization received 150 phone calls after advertising a campaign that included free crisis counselling.

Kamps said one firefighter with more than 20 years of experience told her he can handle his job, but at times this season, he has not been able to stop crying.

She said she gives firefighters permission to sit with those emotions instead of ignoring them.

"My thing is, it's OK not to be OK; you're allowed to have feelings," she said.

As Canada reckons with its worst wildfire season ever, crew leaders and firefighting company managers are on alert for warning signs of mental-health struggles.

"We've experienced what we usually experience in a year in two months already," said Andrew Cardinal, business manager for the Saddle Lake Smoke Eaters — an Indigenous-owned wildland firefighting company about two hours northeast of Edmonton.

Cardinal said the Smoke Eaters typically start working after the May long weekend, but this year, they began in April.

Experts say climate change is bringing warmer and drier conditions, leading to longer wildfire seasons. For firefighters, that means more time spent in remote areas, far away from family. 

Cardinal said help is available for his employees — from elders in the community and programs farther afield.