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A fire blazed fiercely in the southern interior of British Columbia, filling the summer heat with dense smoke and ash. Firefighting crews gathered frantically at the foot of a steep slope, attempting to put out the blaze’s raging flames and force the fire up the unsteady terrain.
Gabriel Corbeil, a firefighter from Hinton, Alta., was put in charge of slowing the fire’s wrath. He carried a can of diesel gas to ignite any unburnt areas and quickly ran down the steep 45-degree slope.
Corbeil placed his weight on a thin, slippery stick that was at the bottom of a small drop as he worked on the unstable Ridge. Corbeil lost his footing and fell. He folded his knee under himself.
“It didn’t hurt so bad in the moment because I was charged with adrenaline,” he said.
He knew that he had to get up to his crew immediately after the fall. He also understood that if they lost control over the fire, Corbeil could find himself at the bottom of the hill.
“It wasn’t until I sat down and took a moment that I realized my knee didn’t feel right,” he said.
Long hours, frequent smoke inhalation and injuries, like those experienced by Corbeil, can have life-altering consequences that can damage firefighters’ overall quality of life.
Climate change is causing temperatures to rise in Western Canada, putting firefighters at greater risk of developing health complications. Firefighting operations must take steps to better prepare their personnel for longer fire seasons.
Corbeil, 24 years old, suffered a variety of injuries while serving as a firefighter. He was also constantly exposed to smoke and exhausted while working on the frontlines.
Sandra Dorman, the director of the Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health, Laurentian University in Sudbury (Ont.), said that slips, trips, and falls are the most common injuries in firefighting.
She explained that firefighters are more likely to be injured if a fire is more physically demanding.
“Uneven ground requires strength, balance and flexibility,” she said. “Once you become fatigued, it’s harder to navigate that terrain successfully.”
She stated that smoke inhalation continues to be a concern and that crews often spend a lot of time outdoors, even when air quality advisories have been in effect. She added that firefighters who work on the frontlines are more at risk of long-term health complications from smoke inhalation.
Corbeil says firefighters will feel it in places that are really dusty or when there’s a lot of ash in the air.
“In those kinds of conditions, you feel it more in your chest. Sometimes half the crew will even be hacking after fighting a big fire,” he said.
Dorman stated that while specialized masks offer the best protection against smoke, she found that firefighters don’t always need them. They make it harder for workers to breathe and can increase exhaustion.
With long forest fire seasons, many firefighters also have trouble keeping up with the job’s demanding mental strain.
“When people think of firefighting, they often think of physical fatigue, but right now, where crews are really falling apart, is with everything mental,” Dorman said.
Corbeil stated that dealing with mental exhaustion was one of the most difficult aspects in the job.
“For me, it’s, and I think most firefighters, it’s just about trying to hang on,” he said.
Mike Flannigan (fire science researcher), says that as global temperatures rise, the number and duration of forest fires will increase. Wildfire seasons will also increase.
He stated that higher temperatures cause fuels such as plants to become more combustible and dry, which leads to high intensity fires that are almost impossible to extinguish.
Flannigan stated, “Increasingly extreme fires and weather patterns are becoming a greater concern in fire management.”
“We’re seeing more and more fire-generated thunderstorms, sometimes even fire tornadoes and things like it, which is really dangerous because of how erratic and unpredictable they are,” he said.
Flannigan said that the climate crisis is worsening will lead to more people being scorched and that there could be acute health complications for many.
Flannigan works with the University of Alberta Department of Renewable Resources. He recommended that organizations focus on early detection and initial attack protocols, education programs, and FireSmart, in order to further protect communities, frontline workers, and their families.
“We have to learn to live with fires,” he said. “There will be more fires. Air quality will be impacted because of smoke and, at times, communities will be affected, so we have to be better prepared.”
Corbeil expressed hope that firefighting organizations will work together on preventative measures to better equip crews for longer forestfire seasons and reduce their chances of being affected by pre-existing or greater health issues.
“It’s really about learning and adapting at the end of the day, knowing that at times, it may get tough,” he said.
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