The 2026 Goldsmith Awards: How They Did It with Hannah Dreier of the New York Times

Why It Matters

The series exposed a systemic safety failure, prompting federal compensation and forcing a reevaluation of occupational health standards for wildfire crews amid escalating climate‑driven fires.

Key Takeaways

• Wildfire crews lack respirators despite known carcinogenic smoke risks.
• Forest Service blocks masks, citing overheating and financial liability concerns.
• Investigation spurred bipartisan law paying $450k to disabled firefighters.
• International peers (Australia, Canada) already provide protective masks to crews.
• Reporting required eight months, extensive source building and multimedia verification.

Summary

The interview spotlights Hannah Dreier’s Goldsmith‑winning series "Exposed and Expendable," which uncovered the stark absence of respiratory protection for U.S. wildland firefighters despite decades‑old evidence that wildfire smoke contains carcinogens. Dreier traced the problem from a simple observation—firefighters battling California blazes without masks while the public was urged to wear N95s—to a deep investigative effort involving internal Forest Service documents, health studies, and on‑the‑ground interviews with over 250 crew members.

Key findings reveal that the U.S. Forest Service deliberately resisted providing masks, citing concerns that respirators could cause overheating and increase labor costs. Internal pro‑con analyses showed the agency feared admitting the danger would trigger massive liability and recruitment challenges. By contrast, countries such as Australia, Canada, and France already equip crews with protective gear, highlighting a policy gap in the United States.

Dreier’s reporting includes vivid testimony from young firefighters diagnosed with precancerous lung nodules and from those forced to leave the job in their thirties. She also documented the cultural “macho” ethos that leads crews to film smoky front‑lines for social media, often without realizing they are recording occupational hazards. The series’ multimedia elements—raw fire‑line footage and personal narratives—strengthened the case for legislative action.

The investigation culminated in a bipartisan law mandating $450,000 compensation for firefighters disabled or killed by smoke‑related cancers, marking a rare instance where investigative journalism directly reshaped federal policy. The story underscores the intersection of climate‑driven fire intensity, workplace safety, and the power of persistent reporting to drive systemic change.

Original Description

As wildfires swept through Los Angeles in January 2025, New York Times reporter Hannah Dreier noticed something strange — firefighters were working bare-faced for days on end, while residents were told to wear masks or stay indoors to protect themselves from dangerous air pollutants.

In over 400 interviews, public records requests to eight agencies, an analysis of thousands of pages of individual medical and service records, and the creation of a database tracking every national crew deployment over the past two decades, Dreier discovered the dramatic and lasting consequences that firefighters were facing from fighting wildfires without protection — and that the Forest Service had understood the dangers of smoke for decades but downplayed the risk.

As a result of the reporting, Congress passed a bipartisan law that requires the government pay $450,000 to wildland firefighters who become disabled or die from smoke-related cancers.

The Journalist’s Resource hosted a free hourlong webinar with Dreier, winner of the 2026 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting. This year’s win marked her third time winning the investigative prize.

This is your chance to hear from Dreier exactly how she did this investigation.