Impacto de los Mega-incendios Forestales sobre la Salud Mental de Voluntarios de Bomberos de Purén (Chile): Un Estudio Exploratorio

Objective: to understand the implications of mega-forest fires on the mental health of Purén Firefighters (Chile). Method: from a qualitative perspective, an exploratory, transversal and non-experimental design was adopted. An intentional non-probabilistic sampling was used, made up of 15 volunteers (86.7% men and 13.3% women), who have 11 years of average service. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Subsequently, the stories were interpreted through content analysis. Results: the participants showed a medium risk perception. Furthermore, there are no systematic protocols and strategies to protect mental health in the face of disasters. The importance of strengthening the training and protection processes of mental health in Firefighters is discussed, to effectively confront disasters that occur in the future.