Fire events can impact physical and mental health through smoke exposure, evacuation, property loss, and/or other environmental stressors. In this study, authors developed community-driven, cross-sectional online surveys to assess public attitudes, health impacts, and protective actions of residents affected by the Tustin hangar fire that burned for 24 days in southern California.  

Findings: The most frequently reported fire-related exposure concerns were exposure to asbestos and general air pollution (93%) and the most commonly reported mental health impacts to be anxiety (41%), physical fatigue (37%), headaches (33%), and stress (26%). Nose/sinus irritation was the most commonly reported (26.0%) respiratory symptom, while skin- and eye-related conditions were reported by 63.0% and 72.2% of the survey population, respectively. A higher proportion of low-income residents had to spend money on remediation or other health-protective actions compared to high-income residents. Participants overwhelmingly reported disapproval of their city’s and/or government’s response to the fire disaster.  

Findings from this study underscore the potential impacts of major pollution events on neighboring communities and offer critical insights to better position government agencies to respond during future disasters while effectively communicating with the public and addressing community needs.