While Maui firefighters continue to work to extinguish wildfires around the island, the potential impact on their physical and psychological well-being becomes more and more apparent.
Researchers in 2021 found that firefighters are one of the least understood when it comes to medical research.
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo psychology professor Chris Frueh co-authored an article earlier this month that details what he calls “Firefighter Syndrome.”
It maps the accumulation of the physical, psychological, neurological, and hormonal injuries sustained by firefighters and how it impacts their short and long-term health.
The Conversation’s Russell Subiono talked with Frueh about Firefighter Syndrome and how we can better address the unique needs of first responders.
Frueh said that lack of sleep and traumatic events could contribute to mental disorders for many firefighters.
"Maybe they have a coping mechanism to get them through, you know, their day off, or their four days off to get to the next shift. But as these things kind of compile," he said.
Earlier his his career, Frueh similarly worked with combat veterans to identify the various injuries they sustained and how it impacted their long-term health.
"We can talk about psychiatric disorders like depression, PTSD, addiction. But we also have to be mindful that there are physiological injuries happening," Frueh explained.
"Part of the value of this firefighter syndrome paper is to kind of communicate that these are the expected normal outcomes of a career of a dangerous career that you've chosen."
To read the Frueh's full article, click here.
This interview aired on The Conversation on Aug. 31, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
