Written by Sarah Amandlale
In recent months and years, vast swaths of forested areas, suburban developments, and urban high-rises alike have been ravaged by fire, and it may feel like few places in the United States are safe from fire. do not have. Experts around the world are warning that fires are a dangerous phenomenon. A deepening global crisis. In the United States, fires increased by 8%. Comparison between 2020 and 2019an estimated 3,500 people were killed and 15,200 injured.
Lawmakers, local communities, and non-profit organizations have all been affected and are rushing to help. California Residents built a mobile food pantry for people displaced by the 2021 Dixie Fire. Red Cross and corporate donors spearhead Relief for survivors of the Marshall Fire in Colorado, which was extinguished in January. Survivors of January's building fire in the Bronx, New York, prepaid debit card In addition to donations from the Mayor's Fund, lawyer and celebrity.
But doctors, aid groups and researchers who have experienced similar types of disasters say it is less clear how the response will evolve in the coming months, years and decades. Experts say many people don't understand. health care Other support needs throughout life.
Long-term recovery varies greatly for each survivor. Families evacuated by wildfires may need shelter along with treatment for smoke inhalation, while apartment dwellers escaping structure fires may need shelter. post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms or severity Burn This prevents them from returning to work.
„We've done a really good job of helping people survive these injuries. In the long term, we need more support and services,“ he says. amy actonCEO of the Phoenix Burn Survivors Association, a national advocacy organization based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
historic drought and heat wave related to climate change In recent years, wildfire seasons have become longer and more intense in the western United States. Climate change is also creating conditions for catastrophic fires around the world, which are on the rise. possibility For example, Australia's extreme bushfires in 2019 and 2020.
And as development in wildfire-prone areas has expanded over the decades, more people are comfortable living near wildfires. This includes zones where the natural and built environments merge (known as wildland-urban interfaces, or WUIs). 3,000 structures Number lost annually to fires between 2002 and 2016. 1/3 of all US homes They are in the WUI, an area that is growing by 2 million acres each year.
COVID-19 pandemic may have led to a fire It's also because more people are cooking at home and venturing outdoors (using campfires and patio heaters). Additionally, areas affected by the wildfires have since started to attract more new residents. the pandemic has begun.
Fires injure thousands of people every year. 96.7% of people He was treated at a burn center and is alive. They say they face „multiple stages of survival.“ Dr. Steven Sandoval, associate professor of surgery and medical director of the Suffolk County Volunteer Firefighter Burn Center at Stony Brook University Hospital.Doctors may need to apply skin For example, if a transplant is performed within the first two weeks after a burn injury, the patient may be at risk of: blood clot, pneumonia, he says, as well as skin infections. A resident who suffered third-degree burns in the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, died from complications. 9 Months After arriving at the hospital.
Scarring can also occur on or under the skin of a person who has been burned. Over time, the scar may become thicker and harder, creating a scar over the joint. prevent their full range of movement. As a result, survivors may need to spend several weeks in a rehabilitation hospital and relearn how to walk, eat, and bathe. More than 10 years after a burn, survivors may develop new wounds on top of the fragile scar tissue.Many are chronic itch He said there was a tingling sensation in the healed burns and grafts. Dr. Lisa Ray, Associate Professor of Surgery at Temple University's Lewis Katz School of Medicine. Itching, in particular, „if it's severe, can disrupt sleep and can be a major factor in quality of life after recovering from a burn,“ she says.
Injuries from smoke inhalation can also have long-term effects. Some survivors complain of neurological symptoms associated with smoking, such as memory and thought processing difficulties. carbon monoxide poisoning, according to Sandoval.You can also have a permanent one lung The upper airway becomes damaged or narrowed, and it feels like this:breathing „Use a straw,“ says Ray, who is also director of the Temple Burn Center at Temple University Hospital. All of these conditions can rob you of energy; exercise Tolerance increases, further impairing quality of life.
Many survivors have PTSD; nightmare The percentage of events is high; depression Ray says there's also some anxiety.At least one-third of people affected by Colorado's Marshall Fire expected to have mental health needs treatment As they recover, perhaps months or years from now, According to experts at the Trauma and Disaster Recovery Clinic at the University of Denver.
„For a very high percentage of survivors, this is a life-changing event. Everything they thought they were going to do changes,“ says Ray.
The climate portion of President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Act could help stave off future wildfires. If passed as a standalone bill, it could include an investment of about 50 million yen. $555 billion The United States is moving toward clean energy, curbing fossil fuel emissions that contribute to climate change and extreme weather events.
For policymakers, Bronx boroughs; philadelphia disaster, What's inside is 10 most dangerous people House fires have occurred in the United States since 1980. First, we can take action based on growing data about survivors' long-term needs.funded by the federal government burn model system We identified a number of deep-rooted challenges. Memory loss due to scar numbnesssome doctors claim that burns are: Reclassified as a chronic disease By the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This could expand data collection, improve overall care, and reduce health care costs for survivors.
The reclassification could also put pressure on insurance companies and employers to support survivors until they recover, according to . Jeffrey C. Schneider, MDprogram director. Boston-Harvard Burn Model System Medical Director of Trauma, Burns and Orthopedic Rehabilitation at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. Burn victims, for example, can find pain relief through professional scar massage therapy; insurance It may not be possible to cover. Ray said many patients with burn-related disabilities struggle to return to work or afford home care.
“We are fortunate to have occupational therapists here who specialize in burns and continue to treat patients, but they are not as easily found nationally,” she says. „On the recovery side, certainly unemployment and health benefits, we're probably going to have to improve our comprehensive system.“
schneidertreated survivors. 2003 Station Nightclub He said he was involved in a fire while training to become a rehabilitation doctor, and acknowledged that public attention always fades over time with any tragedy. „But for the people living with these problems, the problems persist. That's why I always ask, 'How can we meet the needs of these people once the attention to the event has faded? Do you want it?”