ANNOUNCEMENTS
Firefighting is a vital but dangerous job, which is fraught with a complex combination of chemical, physical, and psychological hazards. In Delhi—a city characterized by chronic pollution, heat, high-density urbanization, and common fire incidents—these hazards are considerably intensified. This study examines the occupational health issues confronting firefighters in Delhi based on primary data obtained from 100 respondents from five fire stations. The study uses both the Quality of Life (QoL) model and the Hedonic Wage Model to analyze how risk exposure contributes to health consequences, employment satisfaction, and wage trends, especially in terms of employment status (permanent or contract).
The study finds that chemical and physical hazards, psychological disorders, sleeping difficulties, and absence of protective resources have a statistically significant effect on perceived health decline. The QoL model accounts for 78 percent of the variance in health outcomes, emphasizing the prevailing influence of occupational exposures on health. The Hedonic Wage analysis also demonstrates that contract firefighters receive significantly lower wages than permanent firefighters, even with similar risk exposure, reflecting a structural pay disparity. The research suggests policy interventions like wage standardization, enhanced PPE, mental health care, and inclusive hiring to correct these systemic shortfalls. These results have implications for occupational health policy and risk-based compensation systems in high-risk public service occupations more generally.
