Wildland firefighters battle mental health, labour challenges atop deadly blazes
CTV
Two-week work cycles. Shifts that can last up to 18 hours. Sleeping in tents or gymnasiums far from home. Dangerous and unpredictable work environments. Those are the working conditions for many wildland firefighters across Canada.
Two-week work cycles. Shifts that can last up to 18 hours. Sleeping in tents or gymnasiums far from home. Dangerous and unpredictable work environments.
Those are the working conditions for many wildland firefighters across the country as Canada contends with a record wildfire season.
With climate change expected to worsen wildfires in the future, some firefighters say gruelling labour conditions and associated mental health challenges are taking a toll on the workforce.
"There's no question that we are seeing burnout," said Steve Lemon, safety and well-being officer with the BC Wildfire Service.
Officials have called this wildfire season unprecedented, with more than 137,000 square kilometres of land scorched to date -- more than six times the 10-year average. Tens of thousands have had to flee their communities under evacuation orders, homes and businesses have been destroyed, and four wildland firefighters have been killed on the job this season.
There's little doubt this year's wildfires and the efforts to fight them are affecting firefighters' mental health, said Lemon.
"We've been engaged pretty full on since the beginning of May really, without any respite," he said.
