Citation

Young PM, Gibson AS, Partington E, Partington S, Wetherell MA. Ergonomics 2014; 57(12): 1898-1906.

Affiliation

Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation , Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Northumbria University , Newcastle upon Tyne , UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/00140139.2014.945490

PMID

25363022

Abstract

In order to safely and effectively extinguish fires and rescue life, firefighters are required to routinely wear self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), yet little is known about the specific physiological and psychological demands associated with repeated exposure to tasks that require SCBA. A total of 12 experienced firefighters took part in a series of commonly encountered SCBA activities: free search, guideline search and live firefighting tasks under room temperature (∼20°C) and extreme heat (∼180°C) conditions to assess changes in heart rate, blood pressure, mood, perceived workload and air usage.

FINDINGS demonstrate that live firefighting is associated with greater perceived exhaustion than free search or guideline exercises; however, all tasks lead to high cardiovascular demand regardless of the presence of heat. No significant impact of task upon mood and no significant differences between the perceived demands of guideline, free search and live firefighting exercises were found. Practitioner Summary: This study considered the physiological and psychological responses of firefighters undertaking SCBA exercises. Although live firefighting is associated with greater perceived exertion, the absence of differences in psychological domains between exercises demonstrates that task demands are not always dependent upon the presence of fire and that all tasks are mentally challenging.

Language: en