A fire can cause far more than just the immediately visible damages. There are others, more hidden and insidious, that impact the lives of many people, even in the long run.
Most of the time, when talking about fires, we think of the visible ones: objects, buildings, cars, and whatever else goes up in smoke, with the related economic damage.
And then we think of the people who may have been involved, perhaps injured or even deceased. All very serious things that cannot be ignored.
But equally serious are the long-term consequences of a fire, which do not go away when the fire that generated them goes out.
We are talking about the environmental impact and the impact on people's health over the long term: the environment and people who may not even be directly involved in fires, but who suffer the consequences.
Studies and scientific evidence
Just a quick web search reveals the problem is evident, with several studies conducted in recent years highlighting its seriousness.
For example, on CORDIS (the EU's platform for research and development projects) at the beginning of 2023, a news story was published specifically regarding the impacts of wildfires in Indonesia, a region often affected by the phenomenon.
The article states that “Scientists from Europe and Indonesia have used imagery from ESA and NASA satellites to measure the impact of the 1997-98 bushfires in Indonesia, and conclude that they contributed greatly to the largest annual increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide since records began.”
“The British, German, and Indonesian scientists calculated that the fires released up to 2.57 gigatons of carbon, 40% of the mean annual carbon emissions from fossil fuels”.
But it's not just the carbon dioxide released that's a problem.
Any fire also produces enormous amounts of nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), formaldehyde, smoke and fine dust that create harmful caliginous clouds in the atmosphere, carried by winds for thousands of miles, and then breathed in by people who may not even be aware of the original fire.
In a 2022 article, according to the World Resources Institute, analyses of greenhouse gas emission sources must also include wildfires, which from 2001 to 2019 burned twice as much forest area as in the previous two decades.
European fire analysis and data
Environmental impact
According to the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (SIMA), in 2022 the total emissions caused by wildfires in the European Union and the United Kingdom reached 9 Mt, equivalent to those emitted by ten million cars.
According to data from the European forest fire information system (Effis), in 2022 there were more than triple the fires in Europe compared to the average of the last seventeen years.
Impact on health
Exposure to chemicals released by fires can cause serious respiratory problems, lung damage, and even death.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), exposure to smoke from wildfires is responsible for a significant number of deaths and respiratory illnesses each year (over 500,000 premature deaths annually worldwide), with particular severity in low-income communities and densely populated urban areas.
Due to their size, fine particles (PM2.5 and PM10) penetrate deeply into the lungs and even into the cardiovascular system, causing a range of health problems.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), long-term exposure to PM2.5 is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and other chronic conditions. In addition, suspended particles can worsen existing conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), reducing quality of life and increasing the burden on healthcare systems.
Economic impact
The loss of homes, personal belongings, and, in some cases, life itself, can lead to stress, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
According to studies conducted by Stanford University, communities affected by wildfires experienced a significant increase in hospitalizations for mental health problems in the weeks and months following the catastrophic event.
Psychological support and social assistance therefore become crucial in helping people cope with the emotional consequences of fires.
How to prevent or deal with fires while reducing environmental impact
Given the various findings from analyses, it is clear that wildfires pose a serious threat to public health, with harmful effects that extend on a vast scale and involve millions of people worldwide.
It is essential to take effective preventive measures, such as fire prevention and fire management, to minimize impacts on human health.
In addition, it is crucial to invest in research and innovation to develop advanced solutions to protect public health from fire-related disasters.
For all the reasons outlined so far, Mozzanica firmly believes in the possibility of promoting increasingly targeted and efficient firefighting technologies, designed for the type of risk and suitable for the specific project.
Understanding the Customer and their risk profile are absolutely necessary fundamental elements before addressing their issues.
Next comes the technical expertise of its staff, well-structured work plans, and a network of reliable suppliers, which allow us to offer technologies with real efficiency in fire prevention and extinguishing, and with minimal ecological impact.