Australian firefighters perceptions of heat stress, fatigue and recovery practices during fire-fighting tasks in extreme environments

Fullagar, Hugh; Schwarz, Edgar; Richardson, Andrew; Notley, Sean R.; Lu, Donna; Duffield, Rob

doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2021.103449

Cited by 19 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Another 10 reports appeared to meet the inclusion criteria but were ultimately excluded due to the population of interest being mixed with other populations such as physicians, police, or pilots for which the individual data could not be extracted [84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91]. Of the 43 included studies, 25 were cohort [42,43,46,49,51,52,54,56,57,59,61-63,65-67, 72,74,75,78-83], 15 were cross-sectional [41,45,47,48,50,53,58,60,64,69,71,73,76,77,92], two were qualitative [44,68], and one was a case report [70].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seventeen of the included studies were published in Australia [41,43,44,49,50,60,61,68,69,73,75,76,[78][79][80][81][82], seven from the United States [42,46,51,52,54,70,71], six from Canada [47,48,56,57,66,83], two from Poland [62,67], Taiwan [64,93], and South Korea [58,63], and one each from Brazil [45], Finland [59], France [65], Iran [53], Italy [72], Japan [77], and Spain [74].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Occupation-Induced Fatigue and Impacts on Emergency First Responders: A Systematic Review

Marvin,

Schram,

Orr

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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Fatigue in emergency first responders (EFRs) is known to affect performance abilities and safety outcomes for both patients and EFRs. The primary aim of this review was to determine the main contributors to occupation-induced fatigue in EFRs and its subsequent impacts. Following the PRIMSA checklist, academic databases (Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and SPORTDiscus) were searched using key terms with results subjected to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Populations of interest were firefighters, paramedics, or emergency call centre personnel. Of the 5633 records identified, 43 studies, which reported on 186 unique measures from a total population of 6373 participants, informed the review. Synthesis revealed fatigue was caused by lack of sleep during the shift and consistent poor sleep quality which negatively impacted cognitive function, alertness, and physical and mental health while increasing safety-compromising behaviours and injuries. Both subjective and objective assessments of fatigue are necessary for effective risk management in EFRs. EFRs that are consistently fatigued are at a greater risk of poor physical and mental health, reduced cognitive function, and increased injuries. No studies reported on fatigue in emergency call centre personnel, highlighting a literature gap. Funding was provided by the Australian Capital Territory Emergency Services Agency. Preregistration was filed in OSF: osf.io/26f3s.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupation-Induced Fatigue and Impacts on Emergency First Responders: A Systematic Review

Marvin,

Schram,

Orr

et al. 2023

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The activities of the officers of fire protection units are often associated with exposure to various hazards 1 – 3 . Such risks include exposure to high temperatures 4 – 6 , smoke emissions (toxic decomposition products) 7 – 9 and exposure to strong chemicals 10 – 12 . In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to aspects of work ergonomics 13 , 14 and the physical 15 and mental health of firefighters 16 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Problems of operation of positive pressure ventilators on the basis of surveys of Polish officers of the State Fire Service

Kaczmarzyk,

Warguła,

Janik

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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Positive pressure ventilators (PPV) used by 97.7% of officers of the National Fire Service in Poland, are characterized by work that is not in line with the expectations of the firefighters. In order to improve the technical and operational features of these devices, a survey was conducted among 25,000 eligible firefighters, identifying the application of these devices, problems in use and expected development directions. A total of 682 officers voluntarily completed the survey. Based on their findings, it was determined that ventilators are most often used to smoke out buildings after or during a fire. Mentioned problems when using these devices were mainly noise (78.2%), exhaust emissions (68.5%), and impediments to mobility through the device’s relatively heavy weight (40.2%). Other inconveniences were mentioned by less than 20% of firefighters. Polish firefighters expect the development of these devices mainly in terms of the above-mentioned features (noise reduction (81.7%) and reduction of the weight and size of the ventilators (about 50%)). Other expectations relate to the improvement of smoke removal in buildings: increasing the efficiency of smoke removal (46.4%) and efficiency regarding the rate of smoke removal in a building by increasing the size of the incoming airflow from the building’s surroundings (33.2%). About 15% of firefighters expect changes in the operation of the ventilator itself, that is, an increase in the effective operating time (electric ventilators) and an increase in the device’s uptime. The aim of the article is to identify the issues encountered during the operation and to indicate the expected direction of development for PPV by users. This information can be used by engineers to initiate new development work on these devices.

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“…However, accessibility to, or opportunity for, fluid intake during fire suppression is not always guaranteed. Conditions vary significantly based on the location of the fire, with recent research indicating that firefighters consider structural firefighting as the hottest operational environment [ 16 ]. Exposure to structural fires of 30 min to 1 h of duration results in some level of dehydration, regardless of fluid intake allowance [ 1 , 9 , 10 , 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological, Physical, and Heat Stress Indicators Prior to and after a 15-Minute Structural Firefighting Task

Canetti

Gayton

Schram

et al. 2022

Biology

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Firefighters work in strenuous conditions for prolonged periods wearing up to 20 kg of personal protective equipment. This often contributes to significant heat and cardiovascular strain. This study examined the relationships between psychological and physical measures taken prior to undertaking a 15 min firefighting task, and the occurrence of heat stress and high levels of fatigue following the task. Nine qualified firefighters completed a 15 min “live burn” scenario designed to mimic a fire started by a two-seater couch in a lounge room and completed simulated tasks throughout the duration. Logical reasoning, speed and accuracy, general motivation and fatigue, and physical and mental effort were recorded pre-scenario, and at 0- and 20-min post-scenario. General motivation and fatigue scores at 0- and 20-min post-scenario were highly correlated with each other (rs = 0.90; p = 0.001). The general motivation and fatigue scores, at 0- and 20-min post-scenario, were also strongly related to pre-task logic/reasoning test scores (Post 0 rs = −0.77, p = 0.016; Post 20 rs = −0.87, p = 0.002). Firefighters with lower logical reasoning and speed and accuracy scores were more susceptible to fatigue and impaired cognition when exposed to rises in core temperature and heat stress.

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Australian firefighters perceptions of heat stress, fatigue and recovery practices during fire-fighting tasks in extreme environments

Cited by 19 publications

References 37 publications

Occupation-Induced Fatigue and Impacts on Emergency First Responders: A Systematic Review

Occupation-Induced Fatigue and Impacts on Emergency First Responders: A Systematic Review

Problems of operation of positive pressure ventilators on the basis of surveys of Polish officers of the State Fire Service

Psychological, Physical, and Heat Stress Indicators Prior to and after a 15-Minute Structural Firefighting Task

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