Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Firefighters are essential contributors to the health and safety of the communities in which they serve. Firefighting is a high-risk, physically demanding occupation which results in higher rates of injuries and illnesses. These injuries and illnesses place physical, emotional and financial burdens on firefighters and their families as well as impact the community on a systemic level. The objective of the proposed study was to determine career firefighters' real-time physiological response to two firefighting tasks with a view on firefighter injury prevention. A closer look at physiological response during firefighting task performance has the capacity to inform on the physical demands associated with the job. Firefighters' physiological response was measured using a wearable physiological status monitor (Zephyr BioHarness) during the performance of a hose drag and patient transfer task. These tasks were subjectively deemed by firefighters to be of the most frequently performed and most strenuous tasks resulting in higher rates of injury. Results indicated an increased physiological load throughout the performance of the two tasks indicative of physiological stress and fatigue. Identifying firefighters' physiological load during actual firefighting tasks has important implications for developing personalized injury prevention strategies that will impact this population subgroup but also the health and wellbeing of the communities in which firefighters serve.