‘Harrowing’: trauma caused by Morwell coalmine fire set high school students back 18 months

The 2014 Morwell coalmine fire led to an 18-and-a-half-month delay in the academic progress of secondary school students, a study has found. Photograph: Doug Steley

The Morwell coalmine fire in Victoria set high school students back more than 18 months academically, according to a new study.

The analysis of the Monash Rural Health Study led by Dr Emily Berger, published in the Trauma Psychology journal in December 2021, found that the 2014 fire led to an 18.5-month delay in the academic progress of secondary school students.