DOI to Establish Health and Wellness Program for Wildland Firefighters
A health and well-being program for wildland firefighters is being created by the U.S. Department of the Interior, said Secretary Deb Haaland Friday.
Haaland also announced the allocation of $103 million in fiscal year 2022 for wildfire risk reduction efforts throughout the country through the bipartisan infrastructure law.
The health and wellness program will be established through a 5-year monitoring, maintenance and treatment roadmap established by the DOI in April among federal, non-federal and tribal partners.
DOI research indicates that firefighters and other first responders may be at elevated risk for negative mental health impacts due to their work environment.
The wellness program would streamline and expand on existing mental health programs and work with the Office of Wildland Fire to support firefighter resilience, improve mental preparedness and address the effects from cumulative stress.
The U.S. Forest Service and other first responder groups will also explore additional woodland firefighting mental health programs and will develop a fully funded plan in 2022.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health study to assess fire personnel well-being, occupational risk factors, exposure to smoke and respiratory health outcomes.
Starting this month, multiple online surveys will be distributed to federal wildland firefighters through their safety managers to continue to develop evidence on the mental health challenges these workers face in their everyday work.
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