Aging and the fitness of fire fighters: the complex issues involved in abolishing mandatory retirement ages.

Abstract

IntoductonThe feasibility of abolishing mandatory retirement ages in public safety occupations is being studied under US congressional mandate. One suggestion has been to replace mandatory retirement ages with minimum standards for health and physical fitness.1 Before serious discussion regarding developing and implementing standards can begin, the impact of those standards on the current work force must be known. Therefore, we conducted a descriptive case study of a large municipal fire department (approximately 5000 uniformed personnel) in order to (1) describe differences across age groups in selected measures of physical fitness and health using a cross-sectional design and (2)

Energy Cost of the Trondheim Firefighter Test for Experienced Firefighters

“…A number of studies suggested that a firefighter should have V O2 max of at least 40 ml/min/kg [6,8,12,14,16,18,25,26,27,43,44]. Data in this study agree with the conclusion of former studies.…”

Performance on a Work-Simulating Firefighter Test Versus Approved Laboratory Tests for Firefighters and Applicants

“…Thus, the participants with V O2 max of 3-3.5 L/min (40-45 ml/min/kg) or less will not be able to complete the treadmill test and will not qualify to be smoke divers in Norwegian fire brigades. This minimum aerobic demand is in line with the suggested minimum standard of 40-45 ml/min/kg of other studies [1,2,3,7,11,12,13,14,15,16,17]. In their previous study, the authors of this paper suggested that to perform rescue work at a hospital, a male firefighter should have V O2 max of at least 4 L/min [5].…”

“…Fire fighting, smoke diving and rescuing are presumably physically demanding, as reflected in high oxygen uptake (V O2 ) [1,2,3,4,5,6,7] and nearmaximum heart rate (HR) [8,9,10] during common fire fighting tasks. Firefighters' maximal oxygen uptake (V O2 max ) should be ~40 ml/min/kg or more [1,2,3,5,7,11,12,13,14,15,16,17]. Laboratory tests [18] and work-simulated tests [15,19,20] have been developed to ensure sufficient physical abilities.…”

“…A test should distinguish aerobic fitness level and muscular fitness. Many studies suggest that a smoke diver should have V O2 max of at least 40-45 ml/min/kg [1,2,3,5,7,11,12,13,14,15,16,17], but there are no necessary data about minimum requirements for muscular strength and fitness.…”

Undulation Training for Development of Hierarchical Fitness and Improved Firefighter Job Performance

“…These data verify a deficit in functional capacity to perform necessary job-specific strenuous tasks, which typically worsens with advancing chronological age (6,54,60). Although the rate of decline is largely an individual phenomenon (31), further decrement may be attenuated with systematic screening and thorough exercise training (30).…”