Air management and physiological responses during simulated firefighting tasks in a high-rise structure

Williams-Bell, F. Michael; Boisseau, Geoff; McGill, John; Kostiuk, Andrew KostiukA.; Hughson, Richard L.

doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2009.07.009

Cited by 48 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Fire fighting and rescue work may be very demanding for the cardiorespiratory system [6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28]. However, all these studies have some limitations in examining physical demands of real fire fighting.…”

Section: E Von Heimburg and Ji Medbø Jose 2013 Vol 19 Nomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, the lower air consumption needed to perform a specific set of tasks is another advantage of being physically fit. Former studies described problems and limitations of air reserve during smoke diving [14,19,22,23,24]. Several studies showed that a firefighter may run out of air within ~20 min during strenuous exercise.…”

Section: Test Duration Air Consumption and Pulmonary Ventilationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some studies provide only indirect measures of aerobic demand like heart rate (HR) or air consumption during exercises [7,10,13,15,23,28,29]. Oxygen uptake (V O2 ) has also been measured during fire fighting tasks [6,8,9,11,12,17,18,19,20,21,24,25,26]. This is important since the relationship between HR and V O2 may differ considerably between exercise on ergometers (treadmill) and during fire fighting tasks [9].…”

Section: E Von Heimburg and Ji Medbø Jose 2013 Vol 19 Nomentioning

confidence: 99%

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Energy Cost of the Trondheim Firefighter Test for Experienced Firefighters

Heimburg¹,

Medbø

2013

International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics

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We thank Lisbeth Andersen, head of the education programs at the Trondheim fire brigade, for her support in carrying out the experiments. We appreciate the technical skills of Steinar Messel and Ole Synnes at the work-shop of the National Institute of Occupational Health who made connections between the Interspiro face mask (SM) and electronics producing an inspiration signal after each expiration (OS), and further to Morten von Heimburg at Nord-Trøndelag University College who made a heat-proof box for the MetaMax II.Correspondence blood lactate concentration fire fighting maximal oxygen uptake lactate threshold pulmonary ventilation rating of perceived exertion

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Section: E Von Heimburg and Ji Medbø Jose 2013 Vol 19 Nomentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Test Duration Air Consumption and Pulmonary Ventilationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: E Von Heimburg and Ji Medbø Jose 2013 Vol 19 Nomentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Energy Cost of the Trondheim Firefighter Test for Experienced Firefighters

Heimburg¹,

Medbø

2013

International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics

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“…This was highlighted with actual measurement of air demand from the SCBA for incumbent firefighters during a simulated high-rise ascent to perform search and rescue (Williams-Bell et al 2010a) as well as a search and rescue scenario in a smoke-filled subway (Williams-Bell et al 2010b). In both of these studies air demand was positively correlated to body mass.…”

Section: Protective Clothing Equipment Load Carriage and Aerobic Fimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In both of these studies air demand was positively correlated to body mass. Only 6 of 36 firefighters (33 men and 3 women) were able to ascend 23 floors without activating their low-air alarm on the SCBA (Williams-Bell et al 2010a) and one of these was a 60-kg female (F.M. Williams-Bell, personal communication).…”

Section: Protective Clothing Equipment Load Carriage and Aerobic Fimentioning

confidence: 99%

Protective clothing ensembles and physical employment standards

McLellan¹,

Havenith

2016

Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab.

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Physical employment standards (PESs) exist for certain occupational groups that also require the use of protective clothing ensembles (PCEs) during their normal work. This review addresses whether these current PESs appropriately incorporate the physiological burden associated with wearing PCEs during respective tasks. Metabolic heat production increases because of wearing PCE; this increase is greater than that because of simply the weight of the clothing and can vary 2-fold among individuals. This variation negates a simple adjustment to the PES for the effect of the clothing on metabolic rate. As a result, PES testing that only simulates the weight of the clothing and protective equipment does not adequately accommodate this effect. The physiological heat strain associated with the use of PCEs is also not addressed with current PESs. Typically the selection tests of a PES lasts less than 20 min, whereas the requirement for use of PCE in the workplace may approach 1 h before cooling strategies can be employed. One option that might be considered is to construct a heat stress test that requires new recruits and incumbents to work for a predetermined duration while exposed to a warm environmental temperature while wearing the PCE.Key words: uncompensable heat stress, metabolic rate, aerobic fitness, body size, self-contained breathing apparatus, heat tolerance.Résumé : Des normes physiques relatives à l'emploi (« PESs ») s'appliquent pour certains groupes professionnels qui doivent aussi porter un équipement de protection (« PCEs ») durant leur travail normal. Cette analyse documentaire vérifie si les PES prennent bien en compte le fardeau physiologique associé au port du PCE au cours des diverses tâches. La production de chaleur métabolique augmente à cause du port du PCE; cette augmentation est plus grande que celle attribuable au poids seul des vêtements et peut varier du double entre les individus. Cette variation annule la simple conformité aux PES en ce qui concerne les effets des vêtements sur l'activité métabolique. Par conséquent, l'évaluation des PES qui ne simulent que le poids des vêtements et de l'équipement de protection ne prend pas bien en compte cet effet. La contrainte physiologique associée au port des PCE n'est également pas prise en compte dans les PES actuelles. Typiquement, les tests de sélection en fonction des PES durent moins de 20 minutes alors que l'obligation du port du PCE dans le milieu de travail peut durer jusqu'à une heure avant qu'on utilise les stratégies de refroidissement. Une solution serait de développer un test de stress thermique durant lequel les recrues et les employés réguliers devraient travailler durant une période donnée tout en étant exposés à des conditions ambiantes chaudes et en portant le PCE. [Traduit par la Rédaction] Mots-clés : stress thermique négligé, activité métabolique, capacité aérobie, gabarit, appareil respiratoire autonome, tolérance à la chaleur.

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Firefighter Personnel and Their Activities in Extreme Environments

Williams-Bell

McGregor

2022

Engineering and Medicine in Extreme Environments

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Air management and physiological responses during simulated firefighting tasks in a high-rise structure

Cited by 48 publications

References 12 publications

Energy Cost of the Trondheim Firefighter Test for Experienced Firefighters

Energy Cost of the Trondheim Firefighter Test for Experienced Firefighters

Protective clothing ensembles and physical employment standards

Firefighter Personnel and Their Activities in Extreme Environments

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